


A Blessing and A Curse

by E_Hiiragizawa



Series: Sakura & Eriol: An Adventure [2]
Category: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: Action & Romance, Drama & Romance, F/M, Friendship, Hong Kong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28984674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E_Hiiragizawa/pseuds/E_Hiiragizawa
Summary: Sakura and Eriol go to Hong Kong to help Syaoran and his family with a problem. The situation gets dangerous and Sakura realizes that being with Eriol is both a blessing and a curse.A sequel to "Sakura and Her Blue Haired Boy". Set about 3 years after the ending of that story.
Relationships: Eriol Hiiragizawa/Kinomoto Sakura, Li Meiling/Li Syaoran
Series: Sakura & Eriol: An Adventure [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126565
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some main points from the previous story...
> 
> 1\. Sakura/Eriol & Syaoran/Meiling are married  
> 2\. Sakura & Eriol live in London because Eriol has to go to work for the magic council  
> 3\. Yue and Nakuru are not around. They're ok though, just busy with their own lives. So it's just Kero & Spinel
> 
> Not beta'ed. All mistakes are mine, most of the characters are not.

Li Syaoran ducked his head to dodge the attack of the shadow. "Shit!" He swore loudly as the shadowy sword narrowly missed the top of his head.

"Master Syaoran!" One of Syaoran's companions yelled. They too were busy fighting another shadow figure.

"I'm fine!" Syaoran yelled back as he dropped to the ground and rolled out of the shadow's reach.

Syaoran swung his sword from the ground and sliced through the mid-section of the shadow without doing any harm. "Ah, damnit!"

The shadow raised both of its arms and got ready to take a swing at him. Syaoran raised his own sword to parry the attack, but before the shadow could take a swing at him, it was enveloped in a bright energy and it dissipated into nothingness.

Syaoran's eyes widened as he felt a familiar presence. "This presence…" It had been a long time since he last felt it, but this presence was not one to be easily forgotten. His head turned towards the direction where he felt the presence came from and what he saw there made his eyes widened even further.

A pair was standing on the rooftop of a nearby temple, one of them was holding a long staff with a spiked sun-shaped figure at the top. Another energy light shot out from the staff and hit the other shadowy figure squarely, destroying it.

"Alright, it's safe now. Go say hello." Eriol told his wife with a smile, knowing how excited she was to see their old friend. He recalled his staff and it turned back into its key form, hanging on the string around his neck under his shirt.

Sakura cast Jump and jumped down from the roof and skipped over to Syaoran. She stopped in front of him and Syaroan just stared up at her.

"Hello, Syaoran!" Sakura said with a big smile on her face as she offered her hand to help him. Behind her, Syaoran could see Eriol jumping down from the roof and landed on his feet gracefully before walking towards them. "Please do forgive him. You know how he likes to make an entrance."

"Sakura?" Syaoran was shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you out with those shadow thing, of course!" Sakura told him as he accepted her offered hand and got back to his feet.

"How did you know about them?" Syaoran dusted himself off.

"Your mother contacted the council, requesting an aid." Eriol had reached them. "So here we are."

"You're… You're with the council?" Syaoran looked at them in surprise.

"Just him. I'm here to tag along and meet some old friends." Sakura informed him cheerfully. "Oh, and to help too, of course!" She added while recalling her staff.

"Hello, kid!" Kero poked his head out from Sakura's bag to greet Syaoran.

"Ah, Kero…" Syaoran nodded at the guardian, who then ducked back into the bag as Syaoran's companions approached them.

"Master Syaoran, are you alright?" One of them asked.

"I'm fine. Let's go back to the house." Syaoran said.

Syaoran led them to the car parked nearby and the three of them got into the backseat. Sakura sat in the middle, between the two men, her bag on her lap. As the car drove off, she glanced at her husband. He'd been quiet and unusually tense since he told her that they were going to Hong Kong. Eriol was not the type who got anxious or agitated over anything. His strong magic and vast knowledge allowed him to maintain his composure most, if not all, of the time. Hence, this unusual mood of his made her nervous. Now, he was staring out of the window, deep in thoughts.

_A few days earlier…_

Eriol and John were sitting in John's office, discussing the most recent situation in Hong Kong.

"It could be nothing." John said, but he didn't sound so convincing.

"I don't think so." Eriol said. "There's something going on and I don't want to risk it."

"Exposing yourself like that could be dangerous, even if they're your descendants. The rumours are bad enough as they are." John told him.

Due to the old-fashioned mindset of the council, the High Priests were given the title of Lords and Ladies. For most people, within and outside of the council, Eriol was known only as the mysterious Lord Hiiragizawa. None of them knew anything about him; not his first name, not how he looked like, and definitely not who he was. John and Eriol were aware of the gossip and rumours that had been going around about him, but as long as nobody confirmed it, they were nothing but rumours and they wanted to keep it that way. If words got out that one of the High Priests was a twenty one year old guy and was hired when he was sixteen, the magical community could lose faith in the council and that was the last thing that they needed right now.

Even within the council itself, the High Priests didn't usually go to the common areas, except for John. John sometimes went to visit some of the other departments, but the rest of them, including Eriol, chose to work behind the scene. Thus, John was known as the representative of the High Priests, and the council in general.

Most of the employees didn't even know how the High Priests and Priestess actually looked like. Only those with high enough clearance had access to that information. By nature, the magical community valued secrecy and most of the employees didn't even know each other. Everyone was just another face in the office, minding their own business.

"I'll handle it." Eriol simply said. The council had received some reports of unusual activities in Hong Kong regarding some shadows that started to appear and attack people, both mages and non-mages alike. A couple of days ago, Li Yelan, the head of the LI family had contacted the council, asking for an aid, which was quite surprising, considering that Li Yelan didn't like the council at all.

"Alright, fine. Just be careful." John finally agreed, albeit reluctantly. Technically John was no longer Eriol's legal guardian, but it didn't stop him from worrying about his young (former) ward, despite knowing full well who Eriol was and what he was capable of. In the past few years, he had also grown fond of Sakura as he got to know her better, having been invited many times to their house for dinner, no doubt, on Sakura's insistence. It amused John to see how Sakura could make Eriol do pretty much anything she wanted him to do. She truly had him wrapped around her little finger.

"You know me, John. I'm always careful." Eriol told him. "I'll leave first thing in the morning. The sooner I get there, the better."

_Present day…_

Sakura sensed Eriol's mood and left him to his thoughts. She turned her attention towards her friend instead. "How's Meiling doing?" She asked Syaoran. It had been years since she saw the Chinese girl.

"She's fine. Busy. Everyone is, since this whole thing started a couple of weeks ago." Syaoran answered. Syaoran had learned about the council as part of his training to become the next leader of the Li's family. He knew his mother despised the council, saying that they were nothing but a bunch of snobs who sat around, doing nothing. So, for her to contact the council showed him that this was a very serious matter.

Sakura could see that Syaoran was troubled, which didn't help her feel better. If Eriol had decided to come here to handle this himself, this shadow problem must be pretty bad. He hadn't told her much about it, saying that he needed more information, but she knew that she just had to trust him, and she did. Seeing that neither of them seemed to be in the mood to talk, Sakura fell silent and just looked out of the window.

Fifteen minutes later, the car entered a gate and drove up the driveway. After the car stopped, Eriol stepped out of the car and held out his hand to his wife. Taking his offered hand, Sakura stepped out of the vehicle and looked around in amazement. They were standing in front of a massive house. "This is your house?" She asked Syaoran who had made his way around the car towards them after giving some instructions to one of the servants.

"It's the Li family house, but yes, currently only I, my mother and Meiling are staying here." He answered then asked for them to follow him.

Syaoran led them through a beautiful garden, to a large room that resembled a big family room with a classic and elegant décor and gestured for them to sit down. "My mother would want to speak with you. She'll be here shortly."

Eriol nodded and gestured for Sakura to sit down on the couch before taking a seat beside her. The room was quiet as everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

Syaoran sat down on the other couch and looked at them. It had been years since he last saw them. The last time he saw them was at the airport after their junior high graduation in Japan. He received their wedding invitation a few years ago, but had to decline due to some family obligations. They both had matured up, and so had he, of course. They were no longer the teenagers that they were back then.

Sakura's hair was longer than he remembered it to be, at shoulder-length, and she let it fall naturally, framing her face. Her face hadn't changed that much. Yes, she looked older and more mature, but her face still held that innocent, childlike wonder that she always had since he first met her all those years ago. Earlier, Syaoran noticed that she had gotten taller. In fact, she was almost as tall as he was. Currently, she was wearing a beige light jacket over a pink Polo shirt with jeans and a pair of sneakers. Syaoran could also see her wedding ring on her finger, glinting under the light.

"Clow." Sakura suddenly said.

"Yes, dear?" Eriol replied absentmindedly.

"No, not you." Sakura said, then pointed at the wall. "That."

The men looked at what she was pointing at and saw Clow Reed's portrait hanging on the wall, along with the portraits of the Li family members.

"The resemblance is uncanny." Sakura said. She first looked at Eriol, turned to the picture and then back at him. She had, of course, met Clow on several occasions, but she had never seen him, or in this case, his portrait, side-by-side with her husband to be able to compare them.

"I'm not that old." Eriol protested, but Sakura could see his eyes twinkling and the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile, which only served to prove her point about his resemblance to his former self.

Syaoran had to agree with Sakura on this one. While Syaoran had never met the man himself, if his portrait was accurate, Eriol had grown to resemble Clow Reed more and more as he grew older. Instead of the slightly rounded, innocent looking, and always-smiling face that Syaoran often found annoying in the past, his face had matured, with more defined cheekbones and jawline. His short dark blue hair still held the same hairstyle as it did all those years ago, with unruly hair falling over his forehead and parted in the middle. Eriol was also taller than him and was wearing a navy blue shirt under his black jacket and pants. Like Sakura, he had his wedding band on his left ring finger. He wore a pair of black boots on his feet. All in all, he looked like the modern version of Clow.

"That portrait has been there since forever." Syaoran said.

"Your family is related to him, after all. Are those your ancestors?" Sakura asked about the many portraits on the wall.

Syaoran nodded. "Some of them are still around actually, although some of them are not even in Hong Kong. Speaking of which, I didn't know the council is also located in Japan."

"It's not. We came here from England." Sakura said, much to Syaoran's surprise. "We moved to London a few years ago." She explained.

Before Syaoran could ask any further question, the door opened, and a woman stepped into the room.

Sakura looked at the newcomer and couldn't help but feel intimidated. The woman, whom she presumed was Syaoran's mother, looked very regal in her traditional Chinese attire. Her long black hair was fashioned into an elaborate hairdo. Sakura could feel her aura and knew instinctively that she was a powerful sorceress. She walked to the armchair across from them.

Beside Sakura, Eriol stood up and she followed suit. "Good evening. Mrs, Li, I presume?" Eriol said politely. It didn't escape his notice how Syaoran suddenly stiffened up upon the woman's entrance and he had gotten to his feet and was currently standing with his back ramrod straight. ' _A soldier's pose._ ' Eriol mused.

Li Yelan stepped into the room and looked at her guests. ' _Typical._ ' She thought with disdain. She asked for help from the council and instead of taking her seriously, they had sent these two… youngsters. "Good evening. Yes, I'm Li Yelan." She replied.

"My name is Eriol Hiiragizawa and this is my wife, Sakura." Eriol introduced themselves. Sakura bowed in greeting. "I'm here as a representative from the council, as you requested."

Yelan's eyes widened as she recognized the name. Nobody had ever seen him, but they had heard of him. Hiiragizawa was rumoured to be the youngest High Priest in the council history and that he was a very powerful sorcerer. However, nobody knew for sure how old he was exactly. They had assumed he was in his thirties. But looking at him now, Yelan could tell that he wasn't anywhere near thirty years old. In fact, he didn't seem to be any older than her own son. She found it hard to believe that this young man was powerful enough to be a High Priest.

"Lord Hiiragizawa? The council sent a High Priest?!" Yelan asked in shock.

For his part, Syaoran too was surprised. ' _He's a High Priest?!_ ' Syaoran had heard of High Priests (and Priestesses) before. They were the highest-ranking members of the council, the leaders of the council. He didn't know who they were, but he didn't expect this. ' _Why are you even surprised?_ _Did you really think the council would hire_ _ **him**_ _as a desk clerk?_ ' Syaoran asked himself.

"They didn't send me. I volunteered." Eriol informed her.

"Why?" Yelan asked. "Not that I don't appreciate it, my Lord, but I'm just surprised." She quickly added.

"Call it personal curiosity. And please, just Hiiragizawa is fine." He said, noting that she didn't seem to recognize either him or Sakura. ' _Looks like Syaoran never said anything then._ ' He thought amusedly.

"Please, sit down." Yelan said. She noticed the lack of tea or anything on the table. She turned to her son and asked, "Syaoran, did you not offer them any refreshment?" Her tone was sharp, almost admonishing.

Syaoran blinked. He completely forgot! "I…" He started.

"He offered, but we declined." Eriol came to his rescue, seeing how he struggled to come up with an excuse.

"Please forgive my son. He's still young." Yelan was not a fool. She could see that her son had forgotten. His look of a deer caught in the headlight told her enough.

"It looks like we could be about the same age, so I completely understand." Eriol said lightly with an easy smile on his face. He could feel his wife giving him a sideway glare at his words. He _knew_ they were of the same age. ' _Be nice._ ' He could almost hear her warning him. His smile widened.

Yelan quickly called for tea. "I hope your journey had been pleasant."

"It was. Thank you. But let's get straight to the point." Eriol wasn't here for pleasantries. "Tell me about these shadows, how did it start?"

"It started about two weeks ago. At first, it was just a couple of them, appearing in some areas. But it escalated, an attack here, an attack there. A few days ago, another family, the Han family, were attacked at their residence and there were some casualties. We don't know where they came from or why they're here. Swords and other weapons seem to be useless against them as they kept coming back. Some forms of magic can be used to stop them, but not everyone is equipped to do so." Yelan frowned. She had been shocked to hear about the attack and she quickly contacted the council.

Eriol thought about it for a moment and then said. "I've read through your request and some news. At first, there were just some sightings. Then the attacks started a few days after. I also did some readings of the Han family. Like yours, they are also quite a powerful family, with magic. If they dare to attack such family openly, it means that they're getting bolder and that an attack to your own family is imminent, but I think you already know that."

"Yes, that's what I fear." Yelan admitted. "That's a part of the reason why I decided to contact the council, hoping that they could either tell me where these things were coming from or send some help before things escalate even further." Yelan had to admit, he was good. As she looked at him, Yelan could feel something nagging at the back of her mind, there was something about him that was bothering her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She thought that maybe it was just a surprise to see him in person as she had only heard of him before.

Syaoran stared at his mother in shock. Yelan never shared such thing with him.

"What do you make of them? Have you ever encountered them yourself?" Eriol asked Yelan.

"I'm not sure. They're shadows, but I have a feeling that they're more than that. I have never encountered them myself, but I think Syaoran did, didn't you?" She turned to her son.

"Yes. Just now, in fact. As they said, sword is not effective against them." Syaoran told her seriously.

"What magic did you use against them?" Yelan asked.

"Uh…" Syaoran didn't know how to tell her that he didn't have the chance to use any magic because Eriol had stepped in.

"A simple energy blast seems to be effective. But I'm sure we'll have the chance to experiment more soon." Eriol said as he glanced towards the window. "Very soon."

"Eriol?" Sakura looked at him nervously. Everything about this felt wrong and she really didn't like how her husband was acting right now. If _he_ was worried, the rest of them didn't stand any chance.

"What do you mean 'very soon'?" Yelan asked, confusion on her face.

"I mean, they're already here." Eriol made to stand up and at the same time, the door was pushed open and a servant burst into the room.

"They're here! Those shadows!" He told them breathlessly.

' _How did he know?!_ ' Yelan thought as she looked sharply at Eriol. But there was no time to dwell on that. She quickly ordered the servant to gather everyone and those who had magic should get ready to fight.

"We should get ready." Yelan turned back to them. "Mrs. Hiiragizawa?" She was uncertain as to what to make of the young woman. Yelan could tell that she had magic, she could feel her aura, but it was faint. ' _She's hiding it._ ' Yelan thought and then she realized that she couldn't feel Eriol's presence either. Yelan was a decent magician herself and it was surprising that these two could hide their presence so well, especially Eriol. She couldn't feel him at all.

"She can hold her own." Eriol told Yelan firmly.

"Then let's go." Yelan then turned towards the wall of portraits and said, "May Clow help us all."

If the situation weren't so dire, Sakura would have laughed at that. Yelan didn't realize just how true that statement was. Like Eriol, Sakura had noticed too that Yelan didn't seem to recognize either one of them, which told her that Syaoran had not shared the details of what happened in Japan all those years ago with his mother, which meant that Yelan had no idea about who Sakura was or that of Eriol's past life.

Yelan left the room and Syaoran followed her while the couple hung back a little.

"Stay in the air at all time." Eriol told Sakura as she opened her bag to let their guardians out. "You two stay with her. Be very careful."

Kero and Spinel nodded.

With that, they left the room. They parted ways in the garden as Eriol jumped up to the roof with ease and made his way to the front, where he would be able to have a full view of the battlefield.

Sakura summoned her staff as the guardians turned into their true forms. She got onto Kero's back and off they went, into the battlefield.


	2. Chapter 2

"Firey!" Sakura cast her card as she rode into the battle on Kero's back, Spinel not far behind them.

Yelan, who was busy sending her own fire magic looked up in surprise. Her eyes widened when she saw the young Mrs. Hiiragizawa riding on a flying beast-like creature, with another one closely behind.

"Arrow!" Sakura cried and a series of arrows pierced through the shadows, but it wasn't very effective. "Trial and error, Sakura… Trial and error." Sakura muttered as Kero and Spinel shot blasts at the shadows, careful not hitting the humans.

"Physical weapons won't work remember?" Kero told her. He and Spinel had heard everything from their place inside Sakura's bag.

"You're right." Sakura then noticed a group of shadows at the back of the battlefield. "C'mon, Kero. We'll hold them back."

They flew towards the backline of the battlefield where the shadows were appearing. Sakura was quite surprised to see some sort of a portal, but she couldn't think about it too much. "Thunder!" Sakura yelled as Kero blast at them.

They worked at the back of the line, hoping to prevent as many shadows as possible from reaching the battlefield. Suddenly they heard a cry, "Meiling!"

Sakura turned to see that Meiling had fallen onto the ground. They quickly made their way there. "Down, Kero!" Sakura told the lion-like creature.

"No way! Eriol told you to stay up here!" Kero refused. He knew why Eriol said that. Sakura would be safe in the air and she was more useful up here anyway.

Sakura saw Syaoran tried to defend himself while protecting Meiling at the same time. "He needs help!"

"I'll go help him, but you stay up here! Spinel!" Kero called for his brother. Sakura jumped off Kero's back and her other guardian caught her in mid-air. At this point, she was glad that Eriol had made them practice this move over and over again.

A while later, Sakura noticed a large energy building up in the air above them. She and Spinel looked up and saw swirling energy brewing in the sky. It looked pretty alarming, but they both recognized the energy signature. They turned towards the source of the magic and saw Eriol standing on the roof, holding his staff, and moving it in a circular movement.

"Looks like Master is cooking up something." Spinel commented.

"Looks like it. Firey! Windy!" Sakura cast two cards at the same time. The two elements burst forth and swept through the battlefield, targeting the shadows.

"Careful, Mistress." Spinel reminded her. Casting two elemental cards at the same time consumed a lot of her energy.

"I know, Spinel." Sakura patted her guardian to reassure him.

They continued to fly around, helping those who needed extra hands.

* * *

Sakura and Spinel weren't the only ones who noticed the energy build-up. On the ground, Yelan looked up to the sky. She could tell that it was a massive energy and a powerful magic. She looked around to try to find the source. ' _It's coming from… the roof?'_ She was confused. That's when she spotted him.

"My god…" Yelan's eyes widened as she saw Eriol standing on the roof, holding a somewhat familiar staff. While she couldn't feel his presence earlier, now she could, and it was stronger than anything or anyone that she had ever encountered. She then turned towards her other guest and saw Sakura cast her Firey card. ' _Her magic,_ _it almost looks like…_ ' Yelan's thoughts were disrupted as she had to cast her own magic to ward off the shadows' attack.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Eriol asked as he stood on the roof, surveying the battle below. He kept one eye on Sakura, but he was looking for something else.

"Being your sounding board, as always." Clow replied. "Wouldn't miss the family reunion either." He added as he looked down to where Yelan was.

"Not the time, old man." Eriol said, his eyes sweeping through the battlefield.

"He's not here." Clow said, turning serious.

"I know." Eriol said and then he spotted it. "There." His eyes were fixed at the back of the battlefield, just outside the gate.

"They're evolving. You have to be quick about this." Clow told Eriol.

"Tell me something I don't know." The younger mage muttered as a plan formed in his head.

"She's not going to be pleased." Clow reminded Eriol. Of course, Clow knew what Eriol was planning to do. They were, after all, the same man, with the same mind.

"She'll understand." Eriol said as he cast a small magic and sent it through the portal that he had spotted. "Right, now that's taken care of, it's time to end this."

His magic built up in the sky and once he had built enough energy, he mumbled a spell and bolts of light rained down on the battlefield. They targeted the shadows, destroying them, and lastly, Eriol cast another spell to close off the portal to prevent more shadows from coming.

"Well, that was fun." Clow said before disappearing, leaving his reincarnation standing there alone.

* * *

As the last of the shadows disappeared into nothingness, Sakura told Spinel to land near Syaoran. Once they'd landed, Sakura dismounted from Spinel's back and made her way to the couple.

Syaoran was on the ground, cradling his wife in his arms as Kero stood nearby. Meiling was still awake, but clearly in pain.

Sakura knelt down near Meiling to take a closer look. The shadow had stabbed Meiling in the shoulder and there was a swirl of black energy emitting from the wound. "Oh my god…" She mumbled.

"Syaoran! What happened?!" Yelan appeared. She stared briefly at the two beasts standing nearby, but her attention quickly turned to her daughter-in-law.

"They got her. She wasn't supposed to be out here, but she…" Syaoran muttered. Meiling wasn't supposed to be in the battle, but she had joined the battle to help him anyway. Syaoran's grip on her tightened.

"I've never seen anything like that." Yelan said worriedly as she looked at the black smoke. She had a feeling that a doctor wouldn't be able to help Meiling.

"It's black magic." Eriol said from behind them. "It's not strong, but it has to be removed right away."

Sakura turned to Syaoran and said, "Syaoran, Eriol can help. You have to let him help Meiling. C'mon…" She tried to persuade her friend to let go of his wife. Meiling didn't look good and Sakura feared they might not have much time.

Yelan looked at Sakura. ' _She sounds like she's familiar with Syaoran_ and _how did she know Meiling's name?_ ' This whole situation with these guests was getting more and more suspicious. She was missing something.

Syaoran was silent for a moment before laying Meiling down on the ground. "Help? Funny you should say that." He then reached for his sword on the ground and shot up to his feet. "Where were you, Hiiragizawa? Where were you when we were fighting those things? Oh, let me guess, you were watching from somewhere else. Because that's what you do, isn't it? That's what you _always_ do! So much for being you!" Syaoran stalked over to the other mage, sword in hand.

"Syaoran!" Yelan was horrified to see her son's behaviour. What was he doing yelling at the High Priest like that? And what was he talking about?

"Back off, kid!" Kero growled warningly as he and Spinel moved to stand in front of their Master, ready to defend him.

"Easy, boys." Eriol told his guardians. "Syaoran, right now, you have two choices. You can stand there and yell at me or you can step aside and let me help your wife before it's too late. Your choice." He said calmly to the other man.

Syaoran's grip on his sword tightened momentarily as he tried to control himself. Finally, after a few seconds, he stepped aside.

Eriol walked past him and approached Meiling and Sakura, who was still kneeling near her friend. He bent down to pick up Meiling into his arms and stood up. Meiling whimpered in pain as she was being lifted.

Sakura got up as well and stepped away, knowing that Eriol would need some space to work.

"Whatever happens, do not interrupt me." Eriol told everyone as he stood there, holding Meiling in his arms. His magic circle appeared under him and then he removed his hold on Meiling. But the Chinese woman didn't fall, instead, she was suspended mid-air, immobilized by Eriol's magic.

Eriol moved his hand over Meiling's wound and held his hand a few inches above the wound. His hand glowed red and then he carefully used his magic to pull out the black magic from the wound.

And then Meiling started screaming.

Syaoran immediately moved to them, but Kero, who had anticipated it, grabbed the man, and held him down on the ground.

"Let me go, Kero!" Syaoran yelled at the guardian.

"No! Were you not listening?! Don't interrupt him, kid! It could be fatal for her!" Kero used his own body weight to hold down the struggling Syaoran.

Everyone watched the scene before them. Meiling was held completely immobile, but she was screaming as Eriol pulled the black tendrils from her wound. The tendrils dissipated into thin air as it left her wound.

Sakura could feel tears starting to fill her eyes as she listened to her friend's pained screams. Spinel, sensing his Mistress' distress, moved to stand near her and Sakura turned her face to bury her face in his fur.

"It's okay, Mistress." Spinel told her comfortingly.

Still holding onto Spinel, Sakura turned back to see what was going on. Not far from them, she could see Kero pinning Syaoran on the ground. Just because he knew that he shouldn't interrupt, it didn't mean he would stop struggling.

Soon, Meiling's screams started to die down as Eriol pulled the last of the tendrils from her wound. He then healed the physical wound and cast a sleeping spell on her before slowly lowering her to the ground, his magic circle disappeared from beneath his feet.

Kero let Syaoran go and he immediately went to his wife.

"She'll be alright now. Just let her rest." Eriol said as he took a couple of steps back to allow Syaoran to go to his wife.

"Thank you." Syaoran said quietly as he picked up his wife and walked back to the house. Eriol just smiled at him.

Sakura went to her husband and touched his arm gently. ' _Are you okay?_ ' She asked silently through the simple gesture. She knew he must be tired. He had cast the large energy from earlier and then healed Meiling too. It must've consumed quite a lot of energy, even for him.

Eriol smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm okay, dear." He told her softly. Sakura smiled at him and was about to say something else, but she was interrupted by Yelan's voice. They both turned to see Yelan looking at them suspiciously.

"Who are you?" Yelan asked as she looked at the couple. "Your staff… That magic circle… It's…" She stammered slightly. She didn't want to believe it because it was impossible. But she recognized that magic circle. Granted, she had only seen it in books and the real thing looked more complex, but the Sun and the Moon symbols were unmistakable. Not to mention, the yellow lion-like creature who was currently standing nearby looked familiar too.

Instead of answering her, Eriol turned to Sakura and said, "It looks like we're due for a little chat with Mrs. Li." He then turned to the older woman. "Maybe we should talk in a more private setting."

"Follow me." Yelan said shortly and turned around. The couple followed behind her and their guardians not far behind.

They walked back to the big room. Sakura and Eriol stood side-by-side as their guardians flanked them on their sides.

"You are…" Yelan's eyes shifted to the portrait on the wall.

"No." Eriol told her. "I'm not him, not anymore."

"What do you mean by that?" Yelan looked back at the young man and then she finally figured out what was it that had been nagging at her. He looked exactly like the man in the portrait, just younger.

"I'm his reincarnation." Eriol said simply.

"His… His reincarnation?!" Yelan asked in surprise.

"I do apologize for not saying anything earlier, but as you know, we had a more pressing matter at hand. Now, please allow me to introduce ourselves properly. My name is Eriol Hiiragizawa, but in another life, I was known as Clow Reed. This is my wife, Sakura. She's the Cardmistress of the now-Sakura cards, which were known as the Clow cards in the past. You might have heard of her from Syaoran. These two," He gestured towards his guardians, "are Cerberus and Spinel Sun, our guardians. Cerberus goes by Kero now."

Yelan looked at them in shock. "Sakura as in… Sakura Kinomoto?" She had heard of her from Syaoran, but since Sakura was quite a common name, she didn't make the connection. No wonder her magic looked familiar. Yelan, of course, had known of the Clow cards. She had even sent her own son to Japan years ago to capture the cards, but Syaoran didn't manage to do so. Instead, a girl had become the new Cardmistress. That girl had apparently grown into this young woman.

"It's Sakura Hiiragizawa now, but yes." Sakura said with a small smile. "Looks like at least Syaoran told you about me."

"He did, I just didn't think you were her." Then she turned back to Eriol. "Does Syaoran know about you?" Yelan asked, remembering her son's outburst earlier and how he seemed to recognize the guardian known as Kero.

"He does." Eriol confirmed.

"He never said anything… Nothing about the Sakura cards either." Yelan didn't understand why her son was keeping all these from her. He should've known better.

"He must have his own reasons. Don't be too harsh on him." Eriol said. "He's young, but he has a lot of potential. You just have to let him grow at his own pace and trust him to make his own judgement."

Yelan looked at him for a moment and then nodded. "He could be reckless."

"Aren't they all? But that's how they learn." Eriol smiled. God, he sounded like an old man. "Anyway, we should get going. It's quite late and it's been a long day for us all. We'll talk more in the morning."

"Where are you staying?" Yelan asked, noting they didn't have any bag with them.

"At a hotel not far from here. I was planning to talk to you tomorrow, but as it turned out they decided to show up tonight instead. We heard words of some attack earlier and went to check it out only to find Syaoran in the middle of it."

"I would like to invite all of you to stay here." Yelan said.

"We wouldn't want to intrude, Mrs. Li." Eriol told her politely.

"Nonsense. You're here to help us and I'm not going to have you stay at some hotel. I'll arrange for someone to help you get your things from the hotel and prepare the room for you. Also, please call me Yelan." Yelan told them.

Eriol and Sakura looked at each other. "In that case, we'd be honoured to accept your invitation." Eriol accepted gracefully. "And it's Eriol."

"The honour's mine." Yelan quickly said. To have Clow Reed's reincarnation and the Cardmistress here, of course she wouldn't let them stay in a hotel. "Will your guardians be needing a separate room?" She asked unsurely as she looked at the two big creatures.

"No. They can stay with us. They don't usually look like this." Eriol said, prompting the guardians to turn back to their false forms. Yelan watched in amazement as instead of two beast-like creatures, they now looked like two stuffed animals.

"Ah, Mrs. Li," Sakura started hesitantly. She was not going to call her Yelan. She was too polite for that. Besides, she still found the older woman to be intimidating, "I know it's quite late, but is it okay if I check on Meiling?" Sakura knew Meiling was okay, Eriol had made sure of that, but she just wanted to check up on her.

"Of course, Mrs. Hiiragizawa." Yelan agreed readily. "I'll have someone escort you to her room." Yelan had to admit it was strange to know that Clow's reincarnation was married, but of course, he would've married the new Cardmistress.

"Oh, please call me Sakura. Mrs. Hiiragizawa sounds so formal." Sakura quickly said. "And thank you." Sakura bowed slightly to her.

Yelan made the necessary arrangements; prepared a car to take Eriol to the hotel, prepared the guest room, and had someone escort Sakura to Meiling's room.

"I'll go get our things from the hotel then. I'll find you later." Eriol told Sakura, who nodded. "Take these two with you." He added about the guardians.

With that, they went their separate ways.

* * *

Sakura followed the woman to Meiling's room, Kero and Spinel were back in her bag. The woman knocked and then Syaoran opened the door. He looked surprised to see Sakura there.

"Syaoran, I know it's very late, but is it okay if I check on Meiling?" Sakura asked politely. She was, after all, intruding on their time.

"Ah, yes, of course. Come on in…" Syaoran stepped aside to let her in and looked around. "Where's…?"

"Eriol went to get our stuff from the hotel. Your mother has kindly invited us to stay here." Sakura explained. "She also knows about him being Clow and everything else too, like how we know each other."

Sakura looked at Meiling who was asleep on the bed.

"She seems to be just sleeping." Syaoran said as he gestured for Sakura to take a seat at the sitting area.

"Yes, Eriol cast a sleeping spell on her to make sure she'll be getting enough rest. Don't worry, she'll wake up when she's ready." Sakura quickly assured him upon seeing the alarmed expression on his face. "He has also healed her wound, so there shouldn't be any further problem." Sakura sat down on one of the armchairs. "How are you doing?"

"Me? I'm fine." Syaoran was a bit puzzled as to why Sakura asked that question.

"Seeing her like that must not have been easy for you." Sakura said gently as she saw Syaoran's love for Meiling.

"She wasn't supposed to be out there." Syaoran said, but there was a slight blush on his face. "I was just shocked to see her. She, she got stabbed because she was trying to help me."

"Shocked enough to lash out at Eriol and stand up to the two guardians." Sakura said with a smile, making Syaoran's blush even more. "I can see that you… care a lot about her, Syaoran." Sakura didn't use the word 'love', noting Syaoran's discomfort and she didn't want to make him even more uncomfortable.

"I should… I should apologize to him, I suppose…" Syaoran said quietly.

"Don't worry about it. He understands." Sakura assured him. "Don't worry, Syaoran. Meiling will be okay."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Sakura." Syaoran said. They were quiet for a few moments. "So, uh, my mother knows, huh?"

"Yes, she saw Eriol's magic circle and figured it out." Sakura told him. "But I think she's a little upset that you didn't tell her about him being Clow's reincarnation."

"Well, that's not my secret to tell…" Syaoran said, much to Sakura's surprise.

"That… Syaoran, that's very kind of you. Thank you." Sakura said sincerely.

"I, well, uh…" Syaoran rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I figured that when the time comes, she'll know anyway, or not. Doesn't matter, really. I mean, it's not like it's going to make a difference, but I guess now it does, doesn't it? I mean, with him here, this shadow problem…"

"Yeah. In any case, we'll just see how it goes." Sakura told Syaoran and gave him what she hoped to be a reassuring smile.

"You should wait for him here. I think they're getting your room ready too." Syaoran told her. "Which hotel is he going to anyway?"

For the next few minutes, they conversed lightly as Sakura waited for Eriol to get back.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura stepped out of the bathroom clad in an old T-shirt and shorts, carrying a hairbrush "Your turn, dear." She told her husband who was sitting at the desk.

Yelan had prepared a big room for them, complete with a separate sitting area. The bedroom and the sitting room were divided by a partition wall. There were a loveseat, a coffee table, a couple of armchairs and a desk in the sitting area. A king size bed flanked by two nightstands dominated the bedroom area.

"Okay. Do you need the laptop?" He asked, in case she wanted to check her emails.

"No. I'm just going to read." Sakura went to get her Kindle from his backpack as he shut down the laptop.

Sakura climbed into the big bed as he grabbed some clothes from their suitcase and disappeared into the bathroom.

The room was quiet as Sakura brushed her hair. Kero was sprawled on the loveseat, playing games on his phone and Spinel curled up on one of the armchairs.

Twenty minutes later, Eriol stepped out of the bathroom dressed in T-shirt and shorts. He placed his dirty clothes on top of hers and looked around, looking for a good place to do his daily meditation.

He decided to meditate near the window. So he made his way there and sat down.

By then, Sakura had finished brushing her hair. She put her hairbrush on the nightstand and took a peek into the sitting area. Both guardians were asleep, with Kero still holding his phone in his paws. Sakura shook her head and then opened her Kindle to start reading.

An hour later, Eriol climbed into bed.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Sakura asked as he got settled beside her. She had been patient, but she was worried about him and about everything else that was going on. Their encounter with the shadows earlier and what happened to Meiling had shown Sakura that this thing is dangerous.

"I wasn't sure at first, but after seeing the patterns, I could see that they're getting stronger. At first, they were just that, shadows. But tonight, it seems that they've been imbued with black magic, as evidenced by what happened to Meiling." He said. "I believe they are still going to get even stronger. We have to end this as quickly as possible before they become unstoppable."

"But who created them?" Sakura asked as she put aside her Kindle and focused her attention to him.

"This happened before, a long time ago, here in Hong Kong too, actually. He called himself the Shadowmaster. Clow stopped him and banished him into another dimension." Eriol replied.

"The Shadowmaster? Another dimension? So what? Does it mean he's back now?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Yes, it looks like it." Eriol said. "I was looking for a portal earlier, during the battle."

"I saw that too. But you closed it, right?" Sakura asked.

"For now. If he had managed to open it in the first place, he can open it again. Closing it from this end wouldn't do a thing to stop him." Eriol frowned slightly. He had to be careful not to spill out his plan to her, yet. His promise prevented him from lying to her, so he'd have to be a little creative.

"What did Clow say?" Sakura asked curiously. She was sure he had conversed with his former self at some point.

"He's not sure. But we agreed that this is just the beginning and we need put a stop to it before it gets worse." Eriol said and then he removed his glasses and moved down under the cover. "I'm tired. Let's just go to sleep. It's been a long day."

Sakura agreed. It had been a long day. They hadn't had the chance to get any rest since they got off the plane hours ago. She got under the cover and he pulled her into his arms.

"Good night, Hii." Sakura said as she snuggled up to him.

"Night, love." He placed a soft kiss on her hair and closed his eyes. He _was_ tired. The massive energy that he created earlier, combined with healing Meiling, had taken quite a lot of his energy. Within seconds, both of them were sound asleep.

* * *

Sakura woke up and was a little confused at first at the unfamiliar surroundings, but she quickly remembered where she was. Careful not to wake Eriol, she turned to grab her watch on the nightstand and saw that it was only 6am, so she rolled back into her husband's arms, fully intending to go back to sleep for another hour or so, but alas, she was already wide awake. ' _Damn jetlag…_ ' She thought.

Seeing that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, Sakura very carefully slipped out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and went to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and used the facility, then got dressed in pastel yellow Polo shirt and denim shorts.

The guardians looked at her as she appeared in the sitting area. Sakura grabbed her bag from the coffee table and opened it, asking them if they wanted to come with her. Kero got into her bag, but Spinel opted to stay behind. He was already reading from his own Kindle. Sakura slung her bag over her shoulder, put on her sneakers and then exited the room quietly.

"This garden is huge!" Sakura commented as she walked around the garden. It seemed to wrap around the main building, extended back to the other smaller quarters and beyond. "Have you been here, Kero? When you were with Clow?"

"Yes, but it looked different back then." Kero answered as he popped his head out from the bag.

"How was it back then?" Sakura asked curiously.

"It was not as big, also the garden was more traditional." Kero looked around. "Clow wasn't here for long. He'd rather go somewhere else to explore. Hong Kong hadn't even existed back then."

"Oh, right. Hong Kong didn't get to be an independent state until much later, right?" Sakura couldn't quite remember when exactly, but she was pretty sure it wasn't during Clow's lifetime.

They continued to walk around until Sakura heard her name being called. She turned and saw Yelan sitting on the table not far from them. Sakura quickly made her way towards her hostess.

"Good morning, Mrs. Li." Sakura bowed in greeting.

"Good morning, Sakura. Would you like to join me for breakfast?" The Chinese lady asked her.

"Ah, yes, sure." Sakura sat down across from her.

Kero, smelling food, floated up from her bag. "Good morning, Mrs. Li." He greeted her politely.

"Good morning, Kero." Yelan greeted him. "Would you… Do you…" She wasn't sure how to express her question, so she just gestured vaguely towards the food.

"I would, thank you." Kero said, happy that he was being offered some food. He sat down on the table, waiting.

Sakura sweat-dropped slightly at Kero's behaviour. "Kero." She said warningly before turning to their hostess. "Please forgive him." Sakura said apologetically.

"Oh, don't worry about it. You're my guests, so you're welcome to it, of course." Yelan assured the young woman. "I hope your accommodation is to your liking?"

"Yes, it's a very nice room. Thank you again for having us." Sakura thanked her.

"I'm glad. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. Tea?" She offered.

Sakura nodded and Yelan poured some tea into the cup in front of Sakura and then put a cup of tea in front of Kero too.

"Please, do help yourselves." She gestured towards the food. "You're up early."

Sakura picked up a bun and handed it to Kero before serving herself. "Jetlag, I'm afraid."

"I see. Can be quite annoying. I don't travel much anymore, but I still remember how it was." Yelan paused briefly. "Sakura, there's something that I want to ask you."

Sakura looked at her curiously. "What is it, Mrs. Li?"

"The cards, your cards… How do they look like? I mean, I've seen some pictures of the Clow cards, but never actually seen one in person." Yelan's curiosity was clear in her voice.

Sakura reached into her bag and took out her cards and placed them on the table.

"May I?" Yelan asked for permission. Sakura nodded, so Yelan picked up the cards and looked at them. "They're beautiful." She said softly.

"Thank you." Sakura said with a smile.

Yelan looked at the back of the cards. "The Star?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes, unlike Clow's, my magic draws its power from the Star." Sakura told her. "That's why I had to change the cards."

"The Star has its own source of light, its own source of power. I have never met anyone else who draws their power from the Star, but it's a very powerful magic." Yelan said, marvelling at the uniqueness of her power. "You must be a very strong magician yourself, Sakura."

Sakura smiled at her. "Thank you, Mrs. Li. That's very kind of you. I still have a lot to learn though."

Yelan returned the cards to her and Sakura put them back in her bag. "You and Syaoran were classmates, right?"

"Yes, all three of us were. With Eriol too, that is." Sakura said as she drank her tea. "I met Syaoran first. He helped me to capture the cards." Sakura told her. "Eriol joined our class about a year later."

"I see… I sent Syaoran to Japan to capture the cards, but I'm glad he was able to help you instead." Yelan said.

"Syaoran is an excellent fighter and he knew more about magic than I did, so he really helped me a lot. Without his help, it would have been that much more difficult to capture them." Sakura remembered how much Syaoran had helped her during that time. They didn't start off well, him trying to outdo her and capture the cards himself, but in the end, they became great friends.

"You're too kind, Sakura." Yelan said, but she was proud of her son.

"Good morning, ladies. Mind if I join you or am I interrupting something?" They heard Eriol's voice and turned to see him approaching the table. He was dressed in white short sleeved shirt and dark red tie with grey vest and matching pants.

"Good morning, Eriol. Please, do join us." Yelan invited him.

Eriol sat down beside Sakura and glanced briefly at Kero, who was busy munching on a bun.

"Don't ask." Sakura said as she took a bite of her own bun.

"Would you like some tea?" Yelan offered.

"Yes, thank you." Eriol accepted politely.

Yelan poured him a cup and he took a sip. He then picked up a bun from the basket. "Beautiful day…" He commented lightly.

"The weather has been nice lately." Yelan agreed. "It's supposed to be warm and sunny for the rest of the next two weeks or so."

"A nice change from London's weather, isn't it?" Eriol asked his wife.

Sakura nodded. "It sure is. I mean, I think London's weather has its own charm, but I sure could use some sun and blue sky."

"How long have you lived in London?" Yelan asked. She knew that the council's HQ was located in London.

"I grew up there. Moved to Japan about eleven years ago but moved back to London four years ago to take up the position in the council. Sakura moved to London about three years ago, after we got married." Eriol replied.

"I see. How are you liking it there, Sakura?" Yelan asked Sakura.

"The weather is dreary, but I actually love it there." Sakura replied cheerfully and Eriol chuckled.

A few minutes later, Syaoran showed up and joined them too.

"How's Meiling?" Sakura asked her friend.

"She's okay. Still tired, but she should be able to join us later." Syaoran answered.

"I'm glad!" Sakura said with relief. "I'm looking forward to talking to her. It's been way too long."

"Yeah, when was the last time you two talked?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura thought about it. "I think it was like in… fifth grade? It was during that penguin thing, right? The one with the flying penguins. Oh wow… It's been that long?" Sakura seemed to be surprised herself. "I definitely can't wait to talk to her later to catch up."

Syaoran then asked about the shadows and what to expect next. The table turned serious as Sakura glanced at her husband.

"The shadows are evolving. At first, they were just shadows, now they can 'infect' someone with black magic, as we've seen last night. This makes them that much more dangerous because the black magic is fatal for non-mages and if a magician is infected, it could leech on their power, thus making the shadows stronger." Eriol told the rest of the table.

"Why does that sound familiar?" Kero wondered.

"Because it is, Kero. It's the Shadowmaster." Eriol told him.

"The Shadowmaster?!" Kero looked shocked. "But you, I mean, Clow banished him!"

"It looks like he managed to open up a portal to our world and send his shadow creatures to gather more power. That's why they attacked the Han's and the Li's, two of the strongest families with magic." Eriol said.

"Who is this Shadowmaster?" Yelan asked since nobody else other than Kero and Eriol seemed to know.

"He's one of Clow's toughest enemies, if not the toughest." Kero said solemnly. "Basically, it was just like what's happening now. He could create shadow creatures imbued with black magic. The black magic would 'infect' other magicians and leech on their magic. Their power would then get transferred to the Shadowmaster, making him stronger. The more magicians that got infected, the stronger he gets, you get the gist. That's how he managed to get so strong."

They were silent at Kero's words.

"And now he's back? Are you sure it's the same person?" Syaoran asked Eriol.

Eriol nodded. "I'm sure. The energy signature and the patterns match perfectly."

"If Clow had defeated him once, surely you can do it again?" Syaoran asked the blue haired mage.

"It's not that easy." Eriol said. "There are more magic now in the world. Two weeks and the shadows have gotten this much stronger."

"It sure is quicker now. Last time, it took months for him to build his army, but now he managed to do it in two short weeks. With all this magic going around, he would be able to gain power easily. Last time, it took everything in Clow to defeat him, then banished him. It almost killed all of us, Clow included." Kero still remembered how he and Yue almost didn't make it.

"How did Clow defeat him? Yelan asked.

"He was getting too strong and Clow had to trick him into believing that he had gained Clow's power in order to lower his guard, just long enough for Clow to defeat him." Eriol told them.

"So, what do we do? Do you think maybe we can draw him out, force him to face us? If he's still weak, you'll be able to defeat him." Syaoran said. "We can set up bait. A lot of power to get him to come to us."

"That's very risky. If he managed to infect enough people, it would be that much more difficult for Eriol to defeat him." Kero said.

"We can gang up on him." Syaoran said. "I mean, sure he has his shadows and all, but he's just one man, right?"

"That might work. But we have to be very careful. If the shadows managed to infect more people, he'd only get stronger." Kero said. "What do you think Eriol?"

"It's a big risk." Eriol agreed with Kero.

"I think it's a risk worth taking. But we have to be very careful and move quickly. Draw him out and hope that he isn't strong enough so that you can defeat him." Syaoran looked thoughtful. "We can reached out to some of our associates and ask for their assistance. Now that we know what we're up against, we can prepare better for the battle. Once he's here, then you can fight him."

"Sounds like a good plan." Eriol said simply.

Yelan looked at her son and thought that too, was a good plan. It wasn't perfect, but given the circumstances, they didn't have any other choice.

"That's the best we can do. You can face him and the rest of us will take care of the shadows. They caught the Han's by surprise, and us too last night, but that's not going to happen again." Syaoran said with determination.

Sakura was unusually quiet during this exchange. These talks about how strong this guy was and how he had almost killed Clow and the guardians didn't help ease her fear. She suddenly stood up, startling the rest of the table occupants. "I, I need some air." She said shortly before leaving.

Eriol made to follow her, but Yelan stopped him. "Please allow me." She told him. He looked hesitant but nodded.

* * *

Sakura took off running. She didn't care where she was going, she just needed to be away from all those talks about battle. Sakura tripped and yelped in surprise as she fell forward.

"Ouch!" She slowly sat up and saw that she had scraped her knees. Instead of standing up, Sakura just sat there and hugged her knees to her chest. Soon, tears started to stream down her cheeks as she thought about the upcoming battle. This guy almost killed Clow and Sakura was scared. What if her husband got hurt, or worse? She couldn't lose him.

"Sakura…"

Sakura heard her name being called and she turned to see Yelan approaching her. Sakura quickly wiped her tears, not wanting the older woman to see her cry.

Yelan sat down beside Sakura on the grass, much to her surprise.

"I'm sorry for running off like that." Sakura apologized. "That was so rude of me."

"Don't worry about it, Sakura." They were silent for a few moments. "Did Syaoran ever tell you what happened to his Dad?" Yelan suddenly asked.

"No." Sakura was surprised by her question. "He never mentioned him at all."

"He was still very young back then, not even two years old. His father was the head of the Li family. That time, we had a war with another family. It was messy. As the head of the Li family, he had to go into battle." Yelan paused. "He didn't make it."

Sakura was surprised. Why was she telling her all these? It sounded very personal. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Li."

"Thank you. It was a long time ago. I had to stay back to take care of our children; Syaoran and his sisters." Yelan was quiet as she considered her next words. "Sakura, being women like us, it's a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing that we have the chance to be with these great men, but it's a curse that we're the ones who get left behind."

Sakura blinked. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Mrs. Li."

"I know you're worried about the upcoming battle and about him. Like my late husband, Eriol too has to go to a war. These men, they think they're strong and powerful, but you know what? We're stronger than them. We have to be, because at the end of the day, they need us to lend them our strength, our support. They draw their strength from us. I supposed that, too, is our curse, that we have to be strong for them, no matter what." Yelan paused. "He's the only one who can fight the Shadowmaster and the rest of us will have to help him in whatever way we can. I know that you might want to go with him, to fight alongside him. I did too. I wanted to go with my husband, but I knew that wasn't what he needed from me. And now, that is not what Eriol needs from you. He might be Clow's reincarnation, but he's also your husband and right now, he needs you to be strong."

Sakura was silent as more tears fell down her face, but this time, she didn't bother to hide it. "I'm not sure If I'm strong enough, Mrs. Li."

"Of course you are, Sakura. If you weren't, you wouldn't be with him in the first place. It takes great strength and courage to be with someone like him."

Sakura turned to look at her and saw that the older woman was smiling at her kindly. "Being who he is, Eriol is one of, if not the most powerful magician in the world. This I know, but that doesn't stop me from being scared, from being worried about him." Sakura paused. She had never talked about this with anyone else. "But I can't tell him that. All I can do is tell him to be careful and hope that nothing bad would happen to him. Our life has been relatively peaceful, but I still worry. I'm probably just being silly, but…" Sakura wasn't sure how to express her feelings.

"You're not being silly. That's what we do; we fret, we worry, we nag." Yelan's smile got wider and Sakura couldn't help but smile too. "But that only proves my point. You're stronger than you think you are, Sakura. I'm not talking about your magic. I'm talking about you, as a person, a woman, a wife."

Sakura thought about Yelan's words. "You're right, Mrs. Li. Right now, I _am_ being silly. Eriol needs my support and he needs me to be strong for him, but I ran off and make him worry about me instead. I should talk to him."

"You do that." Yelan said.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Li." Sakura gave her a bright smile.

"You're welcome, Sakura." Yelan said as Sakura slowly got to her feet, bowed, and then limped away in search for her husband.


	4. Chapter 4

"There you are." Sakura said as she spotted Eriol standing near the pond. "No, don't turn around. I need to tell you something." She told him. She wasn't sure if she would be able to say it to him without crying if she looked at his face. Besides, he would see that she was hurt and would fret about that instead. Her knees were throbbing and bloody. She had searched for him everywhere. The garden really was massive.

"I…" She started, stopped, then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for running off like that." Sakura slowly approached him until she stood directly behind him.

"The plan, it's not going to work, is it? He wouldn't come here. You would have to go over to the other dimension." Sakura had thought about this as she looked for him and realized that Syaoran's plan wouldn't have worked. His silence was enough to tell her that she was right. Sakura then moved to wrap her arms around his waist and rested her forehead on his back. "I know you have to do what you have to do, Hii. I understand that." She paused. "I'm not going to make you promise anything. I just want you to remember that no matter what happens, I want you to remember that you have a home to come back to, that I'll be waiting for you. So, you just do what you need to do, and when you're done, you come home to me, okay?"

Eriol turned and held her at arms' length. "Saku, I…" He was ready to tell her about his own plan when he saw her bloody knees. "What happened to you?"

"I… I fell." Sakura lowered her gaze.

Eriol quickly led her to a nearby bench and sat her down. "Why didn't you say anything?" He kneeled on the ground by her legs and his hand glowed red. His eyebrows furrowed together in worry as he healed her wounds.

Sakura looked at him and tears started to fall down her cheeks. ' _So much for being strong._ ' She was supposed to be strong for him, but instead she had made him worried, again. "I'm okay, Hii. Don't worry about me, okay? I'm going to be fine."

After her knees were healed, Eriol moved to sit beside her. "You're right, the plan will not work. He won't take the bait. I'll have to go over." He took her hand in his and looked at her intently. "Sakura, I can't promise you that I'm going to be okay. I can't promise you that I'm not going to get hurt, or worse." He paused as fresh batch of tears made their way down her cheeks at his words. "But no matter where I am, no matter what happens, as long as there's still life left in me, I will always find my way home to you. This, I promise you."

Sakura squeezed his hand and gave him a brilliant, albeit teary, smile. "And I'll be waiting for you. Always." She told him.

Eriol leaned forward to capture her lips with his in a soft kiss. When they pulled apart, he rested his forehead on hers. "I will not go down without a fight, Saku. I will fight my hardest for you, for us."

"I know." Sakura nodded. "You do your part and I'll do mine. We'll be okay." She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.

He smiled at her. "We'll be okay." He repeated.

* * *

"Meiling!" Sakura greeted the Chinese woman upon seeing her at dinner.

"Sakura!" Meiling greeted her back. "Are you here about the shadow thing?"

Sakura nodded. "We're here to help. Oh, this is my husband, Eriol Hiiragizawa." Sakura introduced him.

"Pleased to meet you. You're the one who healed me, right? Thank you very much, Hiiragizawa." Meiling bowed to him.

"You're welcome and it's nice to meet you too." Eriol greeted her.

They sat down around the dining table. Yelan at the head of the table, Meiling to her right and Syaoran sat next to her. On Yelan's left was Sakura, followed by Eriol and Kero sat on the table near Eriol.

"We've contacted some of our associates and they've agreed to help. Do you think they'll try to attack us again tonight?" Syaoran asked Eriol.

"Not likely. I imagine they won't try to attack the same place two nights in a row. They might try someplace else though. If you can, you should alert the other families." Eriol said.

"In that case, we'll wait until our associates get here tomorrow before setting up the bait." Syaoran nodded in agreement.

With that, they shifted the topic to something lighter since there was nothing else that they could to but wait at this point.

"Once this is over, we'll take you around Hong Kong." Meiling said.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Sakura agreed.

Meiling and Syaoran then proceeded to tell them about Hong Kong and what it had to offer. Sakura was her enthusiastic self and Eriol just smiled happily beside her as he watched her talk to their friends excitedly.

* * *

Eriol very carefully slipped out of bed and donned his robe. He then went to her and bent down to place a soft kiss on her hair. "I love you." He whispered softly before slipping an envelope in her hand.

Silently, he left their room, careful not to wake the guardians, and made his way to the front gate. He summoned his staff. Once he had his staff in his hand, he mumbled a spell and a portal appeared before him. He stepped into the portal and it closed behind him, leaving no trace behind.

* * *

Sakura stirred and reached for him, but instead, she found an empty space on the bed beside her. She slowly opened her eyes. "Hii?"

Sakura blinked in confusion, but then she found she was holding an envelope in her hand with her name written at the front in his elegant script. Dread started filling her as she quickly realized what her husband had done. Sakura opened the envelope and shakily took out the letter and found his wedding band too. She held the letter in one hand and his ring in another. It was written in English, but she had no problem understanding it, she just had some trouble seeing the words due to the tears blurring her vision.

_My dearest Sakura,_

_When I first met you after years of dreaming of you, I didn't know what to expect. But seeing you in real life, it was so much better than any dream, any vision. That day, I was captivated. That day, I knew that I am yours, and I will always be yours._

_I love you, Saku. I have loved you for so long, I cannot remember the time when I did not love you. You are the light of my life, my shining star._

_Words alone cannot express how much I love you, how much I adore you. Your smile, your laughter, your happiness... Those are the things that I live for. But most of all, I live for the love that you have so generously given me. As undeserving as I am, I can't help but selfishly take it, for I cannot live without it._

_I am who I am because of you, my sweet Cherry Blossom and I will do anything and everything in my power to keep that smile on your face, even if I can't be there to see it._

_I'm scared, Sakura. Not for my own life, but for yours. I have to protect you, even if it's the last thing that I do. I will not let them take your light away..._

_Please forgive me for doing this._

_Love always,  
Your Eriol_

_P.S. Keep my ring for me. You can return it to me when I get home._

After Sakura finished reading the letter, a choked sob escaped her, followed by another and before she knew it, Sakura was crying as she held his letter to her chest.

"Sakura?" Kero floated up from his position on the loveseat, having been woken up by the sound of her crying. He peered around the wall and saw her crying alone in bed, Eriol was nowhere to be seen. "Spinel, wake up!" Kero quickly woke his brother up as he immediately knew what happened.

"What do you want?" Spinel asked sleepily.

"Eriol is gone!" Kero told him as he made his way to Sakura. "Sakura…" Kero approached her.

"I should've known…" Sakura said in between sobs. "I should've known he'd do something like this."

"Mistress…?" Spinel wasn't sure what to say or do, neither was Kero. So they just sat with Sakura, trying their best to console her.

A few minutes later, Sakura sniffled and wiped her tears. "I, we need to inform Mrs. Li and Syaoran."

Sakura re-folded the letter, replaced it back in the envelope and put it on the nightstand, but she kept his ring with her. She was going to keep it with her until she could put it back on his finger. She then got out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and disappeared into the bathroom.

Kero and Spinel looked at each other, concerns were clear on their faces, both for their Master and Mistress.

"He went to confront him, didn't he?" Spinel said.

"Sakura is right. We all should've seen this coming…" Kero folded his arms in front of his chest. "Argh!" He exclaimed in frustration.

Spinel sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. I guess we'll have to be ready for anything now. And to protect her at all cost."

"At all cost." Kero agreed.

Inside the bathroom, Sakura stood in front of the sink and splashed some water onto her face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. "Don't worry, Eriol. I'm going to be strong." Sakura whispered, as if he could hear her. She got dressed and left the bathroom.

Sakura put her guardians in her bag and left the room. It was past 1am, but she knew she couldn't wait until morning. Eriol leaving had changed things. They need to be ready since they wouldn't know what to expect now. The last thing they needed was an ambush. Sakura found a servant who could speak English and asked him for the direction to Mrs. Li's room, telling him that it absolutely couldn't wait until morning.

The servant escorted her to Yelan's room and knocked on the door.

When Yelan opened the door a few minutes later, she was surprised to see Sakura standing there.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you at this hour, Mrs. Li, but this is urgent." Sakura bowed in apology. "Eriol left and I'm afraid we might have to change our plan."

Yelan stood there in surprise. "Left?"

"I believe he left to confront the Shadowmaster." Sakura said simply.

"Get Syaoran. Tell him to meet me here urgently." Yelan instructed the servant, who quickly left, before ushering Sakura inside.

Once inside, Yelan guided Sakura to sit down on one of the armchairs and Kero and Spinel floated out of her bag.

"Sakura, would you like anything to drink? Any tea, perhaps?" Yelan was worried that Sakura was in shock, she did look a little pale.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Li. Thank you." Sakura said. "Maybe we should wait for Syaoran too."

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Mother!" They could hear Syaoran's voice from the other side.

Yelan quickly opened the door to let her son in.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Syaoran asked worriedly. It wasn't like her to call him in the middle of the night and given the current situation, he had thought of the worst. He barely even got dressed. "Sakura?" He was even more surprised when he spotted Sakura sitting there with her guardians. "What's going on?"

"Eriol left to confront the Shadowmaster." Yelan gave Syaoran a quick explanation.

"What?!" Syaoran was surprised and looked at Sakura.

The three of them sat around the coffee table and Kero and Spinel stayed close to their Mistress.

"Sakura, tell us what happened." Yelan said gently.

"I woke up and he wasn't there. I figured he left to confront the Shadowmaster himself." Sakura said without any trace of emotion in her voice.

"But that wasn't the plan!" Syaoran exclaimed in disbelief.

"The plan wouldn't have worked, Syaoran. Even I figured it out." Sakura told him. "He wouldn't take the bait. Eriol would have to go to him."

"Then why didn't you say so?" Syaoran asked. "Then we could've come up with a backup plan."

"What good would it do? It wouldn't have made any difference. He would've left anyway." Sakura told him.

"But he agreed that it's a good plan." Syaoran said.

"It _is_ a good plan. We still need all the help we could get in case… in case Eriol…" Sakura couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence. Sakura took a deep breath to compose herself, she wouldn't allow herself to think of _that_.

"Then why did he leave?" Syaoran was confused now.

"Because you have your plan and he has his. _This_ is his plan." Sakura said. "Eriol is a very calculating man. He has plans and he has backup plans. Hell, his backup plans have backup plans!"

"So, what's his backup plan then?" Syaoran asked Sakura.

Sakura looked at Syaoran. "We are. Your plan is his backup plan."

"When we were talking about the plan, he didn't say anything. So, I thought…" Syaoran still couldn't understand why Eriol had left and abandoned their plan.

"Did he say that he was going to be a part of that plan?" Sakura asked. She knew Syaoran was frustrated, but she needed him to focus. "You came up with the plan, but he never did say he'd take part in it, did he?"

Syaoran ran down the entire conversation in his head and found Sakura was right. While Eriol had agreed that it was a good plan, he never actually said that he was going to be a part of that plan. "It… It was implied."

"It wasn't. You just assumed. When it comes to him, you can't make any assumption." Sakura said firmly.

"You seem to take this surprisingly well, Sakura." Syaoran observed.

"Eriol is a very tricky man. He wouldn't have gone to confront the Shadowmaster without having some tricks up his sleeves." Sakura took a deep breath before continuing. "He is always in control. Of his own magic and of the situation. He's the one who pulls the strings. He controls the game and he plays to win. Once he's had everything in place, all we can do is to play by his rules." She said calmly. "Actually, you should've known that by now."

Syaoran agreed. He certainly did know that by now, given what Eriol had done in the past; how he'd forced them to play his little 'games'. "So, you're okay with him leaving in the middle of the night?"

"Of course not! He's my husband, Syaoran! Of course I'm not okay with this! But it's…" Sakura looked at Yelan. "It's a blessing and a curse." She finished off.

"I don't understand." Syaoran frowned in confusion.

"I don't expect you to." Sakura said, but she understood now. She understood what Yelan meant by it. It was a blessing to love and to be loved by a man like him, to be by his side, to be the one whom he turned to, to be the one who held his heart in her hands. But it was a curse that when something like this happened, all she could do was to be strong for him, to lend him her strength, to give him her full support. All she could do was to pray that he would come home to her in one piece, safe and sound.

"What do you think we should do now, Sakura?" Yelan asked her. She'd been quiet as her son and Sakura went back and forth, but they had to focus on what they needed to do next. To be honest, she was impressed by the way Sakura was handling this. The young woman really had shown great courage and strength. Beyond her magic, Sakura truly was an extraordinary woman. She had also shown a deep understanding of the man that she was married to, despite him being the complicated man that he was. Yelan didn't know him well, but given his past life, she was willing to bet that Eriol Hiiragizawa wasn't an easy man to be with.

Sakura thought about it. "We go ahead with your plan. Gather everyone, get ready. We don't know what to expect now that he's left. At best, we won't even have to get into another battle. In worst case scenario…" Sakura trailed off.

"Are we expecting an ambush?" Yelan asked.

Sakura turned to Kero. "What do you think, Kero? You've faced him before."

Kero looked thoughtful. "The shadows can be independent of him. He could be fighting Eriol and still send his shadows to gather more power. I'd say, we'll prepare for the worst."

Syaoran sighed. "Well, get ready then. It's going to be a long night…"

* * *

"Well, well, well… Look who we have here." The man who called himself The Shadowmaster stepped forward to stand in front of Eriol. "If it isn't Clow Reed himself, the man of the hour. Like the new hair and look. Too bad you wouldn't keep it for much longer."

"I'd say I'm happy to see you, but then I'd be lying." Eriol stood there with a smile on his face, holding his staff in his hand. "I like what you've done to the place." He looked around. They were standing in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by trees and black magic. It was so thick in the air, Eriol could almost taste it.

"Never thought I'd see you again. And yet, here we are." The Shadowmaster said. "Just like old time…"

"The same to you, Huang." Eriol used the Shadowmaster's real name.

His eyes narrowed. "Do not call me that!" He hissed in anger.

"Why not? That's your name, isn't it? A name that you cast away, but still, you can't run away from." Eriol looked at him steadily.

The Shadowmaster waved his wand and they were surrounded by shadows, a lot of shadows.

Eriol glanced around, there must be at least 50 of them, or even more. Good, if he could keep them interested in him, then they wouldn't be going through the portal, wreaking havoc on the other side.

"You've made a grave mistake coming here alone, Reed." Huang said with a hint of triumph in his voice.

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Eriol said, the smile never left his face.

"What are you waiting for, boys? Get him!" Huang commanded and like trained soldiers, the shadows closed in on Eriol, hissing and slashing.

Eriol put up a shield to protect himself, but he knew that it wouldn't hold them back for long. He cast an energy light around him, destroying them.

In response, Huang conjured up more shadows.

Eriol cast one energy light after another, but they kept on coming. After some time, some of the shadows managed to get past his shield, effectively destroying it.

Seeing that his shadows had managed to destroy Eriol's shield, Huang laughed in triumph. There was nothing to protect the other mage now, he could almost taste his victory. "Just give up, Reed. You won't win this fight. I will have your power and then, the world will be mine!"

"A coward like you will never win." Eriol cast another light energy. "Hiding behind your shadows. You could've been great, but instead you chose this path."

"Look at me!" Huang swept his arms around. "I am made of greatness! This is the path to greatness!"

"This is the path to destruction." Eriol said as he cast some fire magic, burning down the shadows, slowing them down.

"Shut up!" Huang cast more shadows to attack Eriol. The fight went on for a while, with Huang sending more shadows to Eriol, who cast his magic to either slow them down or to destroy them completely.

* * *

Sakura stood silently by the pond in the garden with her guardians by her side. The night was quiet and tense. Yelan and Syaoran had instructed for everyone to get ready. Those who had no magic should stay inside, while those with magic should get ready to fight. They didn't know if there would even be a fight, but they didn't want to be caught off guard.

Sakura had felt slightly overwhelmed by it all, so she had to get away for a little bit. She held his ring in her hand tightly as she closed her eyes.

' _Please come home to me, Eriol. I can't do this without you. I can't be without you. Please come home to me, my love…_ ' Sakura prayed hard.

* * *

Eriol's eyes widened as pain shot through his body when one of them managed to drive their knife-like magic into the side of his abdomen. He managed to cast one last energy light that destroyed that batch of shadows before dropping to the ground, clutching his side as his staff turned back into its key form.

Huang walked towards the young mage and stood above him. "Told you, I would win I'm stronger now than I was when we last met. You tricked me and then you threw me into this god-awful place. You think you'd get rid of me? In a way, I'm glad that you're here today. Then I can properly take my revenge and gain your power." He kicked Eriol and then stepped hard on his hand causing him to yell in pain. Not satisfied, he grabbed the younger man by his blue hair and punched him, sending Eriol back a couple of feet, landing with a thud on the ground. "That's so satisfying. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that." He then cast another batch of shadows and took a few steps back. "Go on… Take his power for me, but don't kill him. I will do that honour myself."

Not needing to be told twice, the shadows moved in unison towards the fallen mage. Huang closed his eyes, breathing hard. The fight had taken a toll on him. Casting that many shadows had weakened him considerably. The last ones that he cast took the last of his energy. But it didn't matter. Soon, he would gain Clow Reed's power and then, nothing and no one would be able to stop him.

"Release!" There was a bright light coming from Eriol's position, destroying the shadows into nothingness. As the light faded, Eriol stood there holding his staff in his uninjured hand. "I'm afraid you can't get rid of me that easily."

"No! That's impossible! Your power should be mine!" Huang stared at him in shock.

Eriol pulled the tendrils of black magic from his wound and it disintegrated into thin air. "You have gotten stronger, Huang. I admit that. But then again, so have I." Eriol cast an energy blast towards his opponent, knocking him off his feet, and he slowly made his way towards Huang.

Huang tried to cast more shadows, but Eriol was faster. He sent a blast onto Huang's wand, breaking it in two, effectively rendering it useless. "You… You tricked me?!" Huang looked up at Eriol with disbelief as he realized that he had fallen into a trap, again.

"Your greed is your undoing. I didn't think the same trick would have worked, but it did. Two centuries later, and you haven't learned a thing." Eriol stood above him.

Huang looked up at him and then his eyes shifted to his broken wand. He grabbed one half, but before he could launch himself at Eriol, the young sorcerer sent an electricity shock to Huang's hand, causing him to scream and drop the half-wand.

"I gave you a second chance, but you've shown me that you're incapable of change." Eriol's staff emitted a red light that enveloped the other man. He struggled, but without his wand, there was nothing he could do to fight it. He could feel his magic being drained out of him before finally, he slumped on the ground, unconscious.


	5. Chapter 5

"It's been hours, I'm starting to think that they won't be coming." Syaoran commented as he stood beside Sakura at the front of the house.

"Maybe you're right." Sakura said softly. "If they're not coming, that, that's a good thing, right?"

"I don't know, Sakura." Syaoran admitted. It could mean a lot of things; it could mean that Eriol have won, or it could simply mean that the shadows were appearing somewhere else.

They both fell silent as they stood there, looking at the gate. Suddenly, they saw a portal appearing near the gate.

Sakura, Syaoran and the two guardians tensed up, but then Sakura felt it; a presence that she knew so well, all too well. "Eriol…" She broke into a run.

"Sakura! Wait!" Syaoran yelled after his friend. This could be a trap, but Sakura wasn't listening. Syaoran ran after her but slowed down to a stop when he saw a familiar figure stepping out of the portal before the portal closed behind him. The two guardians had stopped not far behind him as they too recognized their Master.

Sakura, however, wasn't stopping. She ran all the way to the gate and straight into her husband's arms, almost knocking him off his feet.

"Hello, Saku. I'm home." Eriol said softly into her hair. He wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her scent. His hand and side throbbed painfully and he could feel the last of his energy seeping out of him, but he was going to be okay. He was back in her arms; he was home.

"Welcome home!" She tightened her arms around him. But she immediately let him go when she felt him tensing up in her arms and heard him took in a sharp intake of breath. "Hii?" She pulled back to look at him. That was when she noticed the bruise and the blood on his lips. "You're hurt!"

"I'm fine." He rasped, but he could feel himself getting faint. The fight had drained him and combined with his injuries, it took everything in him to remain standing. He could feel his magic trying to repair his wounds, but it would take him a while to heal, especially since he basically had no energy left in him.

Sakura reached to touch his face and he tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it came out as a grimace. "It's okay, Saku. I'm okay…" He said, but as he said it, he was swaying on his feet. "I just need…" His eyes fluttered close and he fell forward.

Sakura was shocked, but she managed to catch him before he hit the ground. She let his weight brought them both to the ground as she cushioned his fall with her own body. She quickly checked him for injuries and she felt something sticky on her hand. Sakura brought her hand up to take a look and saw that it was covered in blood, his blood. "Oh god…"

"Sakura!" Syaoran ran to them when he saw Eriol falling, the guardians not far behind. He dropped to his knees beside them and saw the blood on Sakura's hand.

"Syaoran, I think he's injured." Sakura was starting to panic. It was still too dark to see anything clearly and since he was wearing a dark robe, it didn't help the matter.

"Let me see…" Syaoran quickly checked him over and noticed the blood on his abdomen. "He's a healer, right?" He asked, recalling that he had healed Meiling.

"Yes." Sakura nodded.

"C'mon then… Let's get him inside." Syaoran said. He knew that a healer could heal himself and bringing him to a hospital would only make it worse.

They managed to get Eriol upright. Spinel changed back into his true form and they put Eriol on his back and made their way back to the house.

Yelan was surprised to see them and quickly followed them to the guest room. She opened the door and held it open as Syaoran and Sakura carried him across the room and laid him down in bed. They made a quick work on his robe and shirt and Sakura gasped as she saw the stab wound on his stomach.

"Oh my god…" Sakura whispered in horror. Syaoran quickly called for some medical kits as Yelan went to the bathroom to grab a towel before handing it to her son.

"Sakura, get yourself together. We need to stop the bleeding." Syaoran pressed the towel on the wound. "Hold this here. Maintain the pressure." He instructed. Sakura nodded and she took over from Syaoran and kept the pressure on the wound.

"He might need some stitches." Yelan said. The servant returned with the medical kits and Syaoran rummaged through it.

"I think he injured his hand too. It looks broken." Syaoran said as he took out some items from the medical bag.

Sakura turned to look at Eriol's hand and saw that it was bruised badly. "What did he do to you?" She muttered softly, suddenly feeling angry that someone had hurt him like this.

"Mother, it might be better if you do this." Syaoran knew how to stitch wounds, but Yelan had more experience than him. Yelan nodded and took the kit from Syaoran.

"Sakura, let me patch him up, okay?" Yelan told the Cardmistress gently and Sakura stepped aside to let Yelan get to work. Once the wound was cleaned, stitched, and dressed, she turned her attention to his hand. She wrapped it tightly in bandage. "There, he's all patched up. Just let his magic work."

They cleaned him up and changed the bloodied sheet before settling him back into bed. With Syaoran's help, Sakura put Eriol in his pyjamas before tucking him in.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Li, Syaoran." Sakura bowed deeply to them in gratitude. "We're forever indebted to you, both of you." Both guardians bowed to them too.

"No need to thank us, Sakura." Yelan quickly urged Sakura to straighten up. "We're the ones who should thank you, all of you. If it weren't for your help, we might not have survived the battle in the first place."

"That's right. You helped me and Meiling too. This is the least that we can do." Syaoran told them.

"You should get some rest, Sakura." Yelan told her gently. "It's been a long night. If you need anything, please let us know, alright?"

"I will. Thank you." Sakura nodded.

With that, Yelan and Sayoran left the room.

Sakura moved to the bed and sat by his side. She took his uninjured hand in hers and brought it to her lips.

"Why isn't he healing?" Sakura asked the guardians.

"He needs his energy to heal, but he's probably drained from the fight." Kero told Sakura. "His magic is preventing him from getting worse and he'll start healing himself once he's recovered some energy. He's going to be okay, Sakura."

"Mistress, please get some rest. Kero and I will watch over Master." Spinel told her, his voice full of concern.

"We won't let anything happen to him, Sakura. You need to get some sleep." Kero said in support of his brother.

Sakura replaced Eriol's hand on the bed and took out his ring from her pocket. She placed it on the nightstand, near his glasses. She bent over him to place a soft kiss on his forehead and then turned to her guardians and opened her arms. They both went into her arms and Sakura hugged them tight.

* * *

_My dearest Eriol,_

_I'm writing this as I watch you sleep. I'm not even sure where I'm going with this, but since you wrote me a letter, I thought I'd return the favour. So, bear with me…_

_Growing up, before the cards, before magic, before I met you, I thought that one day I would meet a prince charming, someone who would sweep me off my feet and take me to some magical kingdom. I couldn't be more wrong. There's no magical kingdom. There wasn't even any prince charming._

_Instead, there's you. You, my dear, are no prince charming. You're so much better than that._

_I'm safe when I'm with you. I'm not just talking about 'safe' in the literal sense, I'm talking more about how I can safely be myself around you, how I can freely share myself with you, my deepest fears, my highest hopes, my biggest dreams. Nobody else can understand me the way you do, nobody else can love me the way you do. You are my best friend, my mentor, my husband, my love, my life, my everything._

_I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you, Eriol Hiiragizawa, and I will always love you for as long as I live. I'll tell you until you're sick of hearing it and even then, I will not stop telling you._

_Eriol, how could you expect me to smile without you when you're the reason that I smile? When you left, I tried to be strong for you, for us. I had to be. But it was so hard when all I wanted was for you to come home to me._

_Love always,_

_Your Sakura_

Sakura stopped writing and glanced at him. He had been unconscious for more than 12 hours now.

Sakura herself managed to get about five hours of sleep before she woke up to check on him. The guardians stood guard by their bed, in their true forms, not letting anyone get near them.

A few hours ago, Yelan had come to check on them. She had brought with her some food for Sakura and Kero. Sakura managed a few bites, under Yelan's watchful eyes, but she didn't have much of an appetite. Neither did Kero as he didn't eat anything.

Sakura was rather lost in her thoughts when she heard some rustling. She quickly put aside the pen and the notepad and made her way to the bed.

"Eriol?" She called his name softly as she sat by him.

Eriol's eyes fluttered open and slowly focused on her. "Saku…?"

Sakura's face broke into a smile. "Hi…"

"Hi." He managed a small smile of his own. He tried to move but gasped as pain shot up from his abdomen.

"Easy, dear… Easy…" Sakura gently held him down on the bed. "Do you remember what happened?"

Eriol frowned slightly, but a second later, he remembered. "Yes."

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked. By then, the guardians had approached them.

"Like I've just been hit by a truck." He said and Sakura's smile got wider. He was going to be okay.

"You got a pretty nasty wound and your hand is broken. If it weren't for Mrs. Li and Syaoran, I… I wouldn't know what to do." Sakura told him as she remembered how helpless she felt. She never felt the need to learn about first aids and the like. She had told herself that once they were back in London, she was going to learn about it.

"I'm sorry for making you worried. It's over now. I'm okay." He told her as he tried to keep his eyes open.

"You just get some rest, okay? We'll talk when you're feeling better." Sakura could tell that he was still tired and needed more time to recover.

He closed his eyes as Sakura bent to kiss him on the forehead.

* * *

Eriol slept throughout the night and didn't wake up until the next morning. Sakura had just come out of the bathroom when she heard him calling her name. She went to him and realized he was having a nightmare.

"Eriol! Eriol! Wake up!" Sakura shook his shoulders gently. He was thrashing in bed and Sakura was worried that he would reopen his wound.

His eyes shot open and looked around wildly before focusing on her.

"It's okay, it's okay. You're okay. I'm here." Sakura calmed him down.

"Saku…" Eriol stammered. "I couldn't stop him and he…"

"It's alright. You're safe, you're okay…" Sakura said comfortingly.

"He took you and I…" The images from his dream were still fresh in his mind.

"Shh… He didn't. Nobody took me. I'm here." Sakura stroked his hair soothingly.

He closed his eyes briefly, willing the image to go away. "You're here." He reassured himself as he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Mm-hm. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Sakura gave him a reassuring smile.

He closed his eyes again and sighed in relief. "It was just a dream." He told her as much as himself.

"It was just a dream." Sakura confirmed.

He reopened his eyes and reached for her hand with his uninjured hand. He held her hand tightly, as if making sure that she was really here, that it was just a dream.

"Would you like some water?" Sakura asked a few seconds later. He nodded and reluctantly let go of her hand. Eriol shifted to a sitting position, wincing as he did so. He could feel his wounds started healing, but he needed more time until he could be out and about. His magic was slowly recovering too and once it was back, he'd be back to normal, fully healed. There were perks of being a healer, especially one as powerful as he was.

Sakura helped him up and put some pillows behind his back to support him. Once he was comfortable, she poured him a glass of water and held the glass to his lips to help him drink. When he was done, she put the glass back on the nightstand and turned to him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sakura asked gently as their guardians joined them.

"I tricked him. But in my dream, it didn't work. I couldn't stop him and he, he took you with him, took you away from me." Eriol recalled. Now that he was sure it was just a dream, he was more relaxed.

"You tricked him?" Sakura asked, curiosity lacing her voice.

"I did. Even used similar trick that Clow did." He looked at Kero. "Remember Kero? At first, I thought it wouldn't have worked. Turns out, he didn't learn anything in the past two centuries." Eriol was hesitant to use the same trick, but once Huang said that he wanted Eriol's power and the world, he knew that it would work, with some modifications.

"Clow didn't get stabbed. Or a broken hand." Kero pointed out.

"I had to improvise. He has gotten stronger. I saved up my own magic and drained him of his magic first. I had to let him believe that he had the upper hand. Unfortunately, that involved me getting stabbed by one of his shadows and as for my hand…" He looked at his bandaged hand. "He stepped on it before punching me in the face." Eriol rubbed his still sore jaw. "At the end of the day, good ol' physical violence still gives the most satisfaction."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You… _let_ yourself get stabbed?!" She knew him well. He wouldn't have gotten stabbed by the shadows if he hadn't let them, if he hadn't seen it as necessary.

"There was no other way." He could see concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What happened to him?" Spinel asked.

Eriol was silent for a moment. "I had to drain his magic and I left him there. He won't survive for long, but I couldn't take any risk." He didn't want to make that decision, knowing that he was leaving him to die there, but short of killing him himself, he had no other choice.

"You had to do what you had to do. He would've killed you if you hadn't done it. I'm just glad that you're here with me." Sakura told him.

"I was hoping it wouldn't have come to that, but unfortunately you're right." He said regretfully. "If he had taken my magic and killed me, he would've been unstoppable."

Sakura agreed with him. Given the chance, The Shadowmaster would've killed Eriol without hesitation. Even worse, if he had gotten hold of Eriol/Clow's magic… Sakura shuddered at the thought. With that kind of power, there would be no stopping him from killing everyone who stood in his way. It would have been the end of the world as they knew it.

Suddenly she remembered something. "Oh, I think this belongs to you." She picked up his ring from the nightstand.

Seeing that the conversation had turned private, the two guardians left the couple alone and went to the sitting area.

Eriol grinned widely and held out his left hand. Fortunately, it was his uninjured hand. He would've been upset if he had had to wait for his hand to heal before he could wear his ring again. Sakura smiled at him as she slid the ring back on his finger and held his hand gently.

"Why did you take it off?" Sakura asked. Ever since she put the ring on his finger three years ago, he never took it off. The ring had never left his finger, just like her ring never left her own finger.

"Just in case… In case anything happened to me, I want you to keep it." Eriol told her. "And I don't want him to know that I'm married. Although I know that you would've fought him bravely. After all, you're not just my wife, you're also the Cardmistress."

Sakura was touched that he thought so highly of her.

"And the letter? You couldn't have just told me your plan? Instead you chose to sneak out in the middle of the night and leave a letter?" Sakura scolded him lightly.

"If I had told you, I wouldn't have been able to leave you." Eriol told her simply.

Sakura was surprised by his answer. "I would have made you go." She said. "Because that's the right thing to do, because that's what you needed to do. It would've killed me to let you go, but I would. Because that's what you needed from me." ' _Because this is my curse._ ' She added silently.

"Then you, my dear, are so much stronger than I am." He told her with a soft smile on his face. "I love you, Saku."

"I love you too." Sakura said and leaned in to press her lips on his in a gentle kiss.

* * *

Now that Eriol was up, Sakura went to join their hosts in the dining room for lunch. "If I didn't join them, they'd bring lunch here instead. I can't let them do that. They've been so kind to us. I already feel bad as it is." Sakura told him. "So just sit tight, take a nap, hang out with Spinel, I'll be back with your food, okay?"

Yelan, Syaoran and Meiling were surprised to see Sakura and Kero showed up in the dining room.

"Sakura, we could've brought your lunch to your room." Yelan said as they started eating. "You wouldn't have to leave Eriol by himself."

"Thank you, Mrs. Li. But Eriol is up and he's with Spinel. Besides, I can't let you do that anymore." Sakura said. She didn't want to be rude, but she couldn't let their hosts to go the extra mile for them. They were guests in someone's home and they didn't want to trouble their hosts.

"Eriol is up? How is he doing?" Yelan asked.

"He's doing pretty well, all things considered. You probably want to talk to him, but if it's okay, I'd really appreciate it if you could wait until he has the chance to eat something first." Sakura requested politely. She knew Yelan and Syaoran would want to know what had happened, but Sakura's priority was to protect and take care of Eriol first before anything else.

"Of course. I'd have someone send food to your room for him." Yelan was about to flag a servant, but Sakura told her not to.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather bring his food myself. You've been so kind to us, I can't let you do that either." Sakura told her respectfully.

Yelan nodded in understanding. "Of course, Sakura. And yes, I'd like to talk to him, to the both of you, actually."

"Thank you." They continued to eat and after lunch, Sakura went back to her room with some food for Eriol.

* * *

"It's going to take you _forever_ to pick up that piece of chicken." Sakura pointed out as Eriol tried, and failed, to pick up the chicken with his chopsticks. "And it's only your first piece."

"What can I say? I'm not left-handed. It's not something that I could learn. Or maybe it is, but I don't think this is the right time to pick up that skill." Eriol glared at the chicken and contemplated to just stab it with his chopstick instead.

"Here, just give it to me." Sakura said impatiently and took the chopsticks from him. She picked up the chicken and fed it to him.

"Maybe I should delay healing my hand…" Eriol grinned at her mischievously as he chewed on his chicken.

"Do that and I'll make you eat with your hand instead." Sakura glared at him. She blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it down.

"You wouldn't dare." He looked horrified.

"Try me." Sakura looked at him challengingly.

They glared at each other, but then she fed him the soup and he was smiling again.

"I think they're okay now." Kero commented to Spinel from his place on the loveseat as they listened to their Master and Mistress bickering over some piece of chicken.

Spinel agreed wholeheartedly.


	6. Chapter 6

Eriol got freshen up before talking to Yelan and Syaoran. He wasn't going to talk to them in his pyjamas, from the bed. Sakura helped him to change into shirt and slacks before they let their hosts know that they were ready to talk to them.

Eriol held onto his injured side as Sakura helped him to the sitting area and got him settled on the loveseat.

"Alright?" She checked with him as he looked a little pale and a little out of breath.

He nodded. "Just need a minute." He told her. Sakura sat down beside him and rubbed his arm comfortingly.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Sakura opened the door to reveal Yelan and Syaoran standing there.

"Mrs. Li, Syaoran, please come in." Sakura stepped aside to let them in.

They all sat down in the siting area, with Sakura and Eriol sitting side-by-side on the loveseat and Yelan and Syaoran each took an armchair.

Eriol gave them an abridged version of what happened with The Shadowmaster.

"So, you ended up tricking him again? And he just… fell for it?" Syaoran asked.

"I did, yes. Greed could be a powerful thing. But in most cases, it would be your downfall." Eriol said as he recalled that the Shadownaster wasn't the only one brought down by their own greed. Clow had encountered many others like him.

"I still don't understand." Syaoran said, "Why didn't you tell us about your plan?"

"I apologize for that. I didn't say anything due to my own personal reasons." He glanced briefly at Sakura. "I didn't mean to mislead you, Syaoran. You did very well, coming up with your own strategies. I'm impressed."

"Ah…" Syaoran actually looked slightly embarrassed by the compliment. "Thanks." He mumbled.

"Now that it's over, I would like to talk to the two of you about something else." Yelan started. "As you know, the mid-Autumn festival is coming up and here in our family, it's a big celebration, especially now that this matter has been resolved, it's the more reason to celebrate. The festival will be held a few days from now. So, I'd like to invite you all to stay and celebrate with us." Yelan extended her invitation. "But of course, if you have to go back to London, I understand." She quickly added, remembering that Eriol was a High Priest and he might have other things to do.

Eriol thought about it. "Thank you for the invite, Yelan. We'd be happy to attend." He accepted the invitation. "I also want to thank the both of you again for helping me after the fight." He thanked them.

"There's no need to thank us. Also, I want to assure you that your secret is safe with us. I will not tell anyone about your past life or Sakura's magic. As for Syaoran, well, he never told me anything about it, so I think it's safe to say that he won't tell anyone else either." Yelan turned to her son who nodded. "Nobody else outside of this room, including Meiling, will know about you from us."

"Thank you. We appreciate that." Eriol paused. "If I may make another request, I would also appreciate it if you tell no one else about me being a High Priest either."

Yelan understood. If words got out that the council had gotten someone as young as him to be a High Priest, it could create unnecessary problems. There was a reason why the council had been hiding him and his identity from the public. "Of course. In that case, you're Syaoran's friends who are visiting from Japan. How about that? Technically, that was true."

"Thank you." Eriol nodded.

* * *

"Honestly," Sakura looked at him, "I think you're taking advantage of me." She said as she fed him some rice and fish.

After the talk with Yelan and Syaoran, Eriol had taken a nap to recover some more energy. At dinner time, Sakura had her dinner in the dining room and had brought back some food for Eriol; fish, rice and some soup. Currently, he was sitting in bed, propped up by some pillows, being fed his dinner by Sakura.

"What made you say that?" Eriol asked her as he chewed on the food.

"You look way too happy for someone who can't use his hand to eat." Sakura remarked. "And I'm pretty sure you can use a spoon just fine."

"Maybe, but we don't want me to spill food everywhere do we?" Eriol grinned at her. She was right, he could feed himself with a spoon, but he enjoyed having these little moments with her. Besides, he almost died. Surely he deserved to be pampered by his dear wife.

"You're unbelievable." Sakura muttered. She complained about it, but she didn't mind doing it at all. In fact, she rather enjoyed it and thought that it was quite intimate. But she wasn't going to tell him that. He might demand they do it regularly if he knew.

"I love it." Eriol confessed. "I love that you're doing this for me, that you're taking care of me. Thank you. It makes it all worth it. _You_ make it all worth it."

Sakura blushed slightly. How could she resist him when he said things like that? "I love it too…" She admitted. "But don't make it a habit, okay? Getting hurt, that is."

"Oh, does that mean we can make _this_ a habit?" Eriol teased her and laughed as she rolled her eyes at him. "Ouch!" He forgot that he wasn't 100% healed yet.

"Serves you right." Sakura told him, but she put down the bowl and tended to him anyway. "Easy now." She murmured soothingly as she rubbed his back and waited for his pain to subside.

After dinner, Sakura put away the empty bowls and plates.

"You should meditate now so that you can go to bed early." She told him and he readily agreed. After everything that happened, he needed to meditate and Sakura had proven to him yet again how much she knew and understood him and his needs.

Sakura helped him to go to the area near the window so that he could meditate. He didn't meditate for as long as he usually did, but he had needed that session. Afterwards, she helped him get back to bed and he fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

The next morning, Eriol was back to his feet. He was completely healed and his magic had fully recovered too. He had spent most of the past two days sleeping and he was eager to get out there.

Eriol had felt so sticky after not having a proper shower for the past two days. So, he had taken a nice hot shower this morning. That had made him feel so much better. He was in the middle of getting dressed when Sakura stepped into the bathroom.

"I'm fine, Saku." He wiggled his fingers to show her. He had taken off all of the bandages before taking a shower and disposed them in the trash. He had also made a quick work on the stitches with simple magic. "I'm just disappointed that you won't be coddling me anymore."

"I'd rather have you back at 100%. And I do coddle you." Sakura pointed out as she lifted his shirt to inspect his stomach. Satisfied that it was fully healed and there was no scar, Sakura let the shirt fall back down. "Let me see your magic."

Eriol held his palm up and a small ball of fire appeared. "Can't believe I've missed it so much after only two days." He mused as he dismissed the fire. He had refrained from using any magic to focus all of his energy on healing himself. "I don't use it every day, but when I couldn't, it felt like something was missing."

"Well, of course. Magic is your nature after all." Sakura said as she turned to the mirror to brush her hair as he put on his pants.

She was right, magic was his nature. It was as natural to him as breathing. "You know me too well, dearest." He grinned.

"Alright, let's go for breakfast." Sakura told him after they were both done.

They walked to the dining room hand-in-hand and Kero was in Sakura's bag. They saw that the household had started preparing for the upcoming festival.

"It looks like it really is a big deal. It's still days away and they're already preparing for it." Sakura commented. "Have you contacted the council to let them know that you'll be staying here for a few more days?"

"I'm going to tell John today." Eriol replied. He didn't have any other pressing matter that needed his attention back in the office. "I think I deserve a break after that fight. They'd have to do without me for a few days."

"You certainly do." Sakura agreed. "They wouldn't be happy about it though."

"What are they going to do? Fire me?" They both knew that wasn't going to happen. The council needed him too much to fire him.

Sakura snorted lightly. "As if. They won't let go of their best High Priest that easily."

"One day I will leave, Saku. Then we can go see the world." Eriol assured her. It had been their long-time dream to go around the world, but with Eriol's job, they wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

"They need you there." Sakura told him as they reached the dining area.

* * *

"We see that everyone has started to prepare for the upcoming festival. What can we do to help?" Sakura asked Yelan as they sat around the dining table eating breakfast.

"Oh no. There's nothing that you need to do. Just enjoy your stay." Yelan quickly assured them. She wouldn't be having guests help out in preparing for the festival.

"Mrs. Li, we could see that this festival is a big thing for your family and we want to help. Besides, what are we going to do all day for days?" Sakura asked.

"Syaoran and Meiling can take you around the city." Yelan turned to her son and daughter-in-law.

"No. They'll be busy with the preparation." Sakura knew both Syaoran and Meiling would be busy and the last thing they needed to do was to abandon their work just to take her and Eriol around the city.

"You can't invite us to stay here and then expect us to just sit around doing nothing while everyone else is busy. It would be very boring." Eriol interjected. "I, for one, am itching to do something."

Yelan hesitated. "But aren't you supposed to rest?"

"He has rested enough. Please, Mrs. Li. We really want to help. Just tell us what to do." Sakura insisted and Eriol nodded in agreement.

"Okay then… Sakura, maybe you'd want to help Meiling?" Yelan finally relented.

"Oh yes! Of course!" Sakura said excitedly.

"How about me?" Eriol asked.

"Maybe you can go with Syaoran? He'd be running some errands." Yelan wasn't sure if that would be okay.

"Perfect." Eriol smiled.

Sakura could see that Syaoran was a little uncomfortable with this idea. She didn't blame him. Eriol could be very charming when he wanted to, but he had a very twisted sense of humour, paired with a fantastic poker face. He could be sitting there, looking calm, while plotting some sort of mischief in his head, and by the time you realized what he was doing, it would be too late. That was if you could even figure it out in the first place. This trait of his had made him wildly unpredictable.

While Sakura could handle him just fine, not everyone could. In fact, most people couldn't handle him and didn't know what to make of him. That was why a lot of people ended up disliking him. Syaoran had never been a fan of his and although things seemed to get better between them in the past few days, they were far from being friends, that's for sure.

* * *

"Remember, be nice." Sakura warned her husband before he left to find Syaoran.

"Of course." Eriol looked offended that his wife thought he wasn't being nice.

"I mean it." Sakura narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Don't be mean, don't play any trick on him, don't taunt him. No game, no practical joke of any kind. Behave yourself."

"Dear god, wife. It's an errand, not a date. Relax and enjoy your day. I'm off. Have fun." He gave her a quick kiss and left before she could give him anymore lecture.

He found Syaoran at the front door, giving some instructions to some servants. Seeing that he was busy, Eriol let himself into the car.

A few minutes later, Syaoran opened the door and looked startled to see Eriol already sitting in the passenger seat. "How did you…? Never mind." The door was locked, but clearly that wasn't a problem for the young mage. Syaoran slid into the driver's seat and started the car and they drove off in silence.

"I know you're uncomfortable having me here." Eriol said a few minutes later. "Your mother made you take me, but you don't really want to."

"Ah, it's not that." Syaoran tried to deny it.

"That's okay. I don't blame you, given our history. I was being … what is it that Sakura said? I was being mean to you ever since we were young." Eriol smiled. He wasn't always, but Syaoran saw it that way anyway. "She even gave me a little lecture earlier." He chuckled before turning serious.

"You're a smart man, Syaoran. I've told you, I'm impressed with how you strategize. Sakura also told me how you helped me, and her, after I got back. You remained calm and sprang into actions. You showed some great skills and leadership quality. So, don't let anyone, not even me, rattle you or make you doubt yourself."

Syaoran looked surprised and embarrassed at the same time at his compliment. "She was panicking and you were bleeding pretty badly. I was just trying to help."

"Thank you. I would have healed myself eventually, but what you did really made things easier for me." Eriol said sincerely.

"You talked to my mother, didn't you?" Syaoran asked after a while.

"I talked to her plenty. You'll have to be more specific than that." Eriol said.

"About me and my training… She, she talked to me yesterday. Told me I've done a good job in my training and that I should be more confident in myself. She never said those things." Syaoran looked ahead, refusing to look at the other man.

"I didn't say anything specific to her. I can see that you respect her a lot, but it's more than that, isn't it?" Eriol asked, his tone was surprisingly gentle, something that Syaoran was not accustomed to.

"She's my mother and the head of the Li family. I…" Syaoran wasn't going to admit that he was scared of her.

"Exactly. She's your mother, not you commander. And one day, _you_ are going to be the head of the Li family." Eriol told him.

Syaoran was silent. "Thank you." He finally said after a moment or two. "Also, I have to apologize for my behaviour when you tried to help Meiling after she was hurt. It was uncalled for."

"You were worried about her, I understand that. If it were Sakura who got hurt, I would have reacted the same way." Eriol didn't tell him that his reaction would've been worse, so much worse.

"No hard feeling?" Syaoran suddenly asked as he extended his hand towards Eriol. He wasn't just talking about that one incident, but about everything else that had been going on between them, since they were young.

Eriol was surprised, but he shook Syaoran's hand. "No hard feeling."

"Hope things are going to get better going forward, Hiiragizawa." Syaoran said.

"You can start by calling me Eriol. I think I've earned it don't you think?" Eriol asked with a big smile.

Syaoran laughed at that.

A few minutes later, they pulled to a stop in front of a store. They exited the car and got into the store.

"Good morning, Master Li!" The shopkeeper greeted Syaoran in Cantonese.

"Morning, Mr. Lou. I'm here to collect my order." Syaoran replied in Cantonese too.

"Of course, of course. I've got it ready for you. Who's your friend?" The shopkeeper asked as he noticed Eriol, who was looking around the store. The store sold various pieces of tableware, plates, cups, bowls, and the likes.

"He's my friend from Japan." Syaoran said.

"Good morning. You have a very nice shop." Eriol greeted Mr. Lou in Cantonese, much to Syaoran's surprise.

"Thank you. If you see anything that you like, do let me know." The shopkeeper said before turning to Syaoran. "Give me a second, I'll get your order from the back." He then disappeared behind the back door.

"You can speak Cantonese?" Syaoran asked Eriol.

"Among others." Eriol said. "My, well, Clow's mother was a part of your family, so I know how to speak it too."

"What other languages do you speak?" Syaoran asked curiously.

"My first language is English, but I also speak Japanese, Chinese, Cantonese, Greek, German, Spanish, Latin, Italian, French, Dutch, and I know a little bit of Korean, just enough to get by though." Eriol said. "I can read in more languages than I can speak, actually, including some dead languages."

Syaoran blinked. "That's a lot of languages."

"You're not too bad yourself." Eriol looked at him. "You speak Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese and English. Correct?"

Syaoran nodded. "English is also the official language here, alongside Chinese. So we know how to speak English, but my first language is Chinese."

"If you can, try to speak some English to Sakura too. She's learning the language and she could always use some practice." Eriol said.

"Is that why you're speaking English with her?" Syaoran did notice that Eriol and Sakura conversed in English instead of Japanese.

Eriol nodded. "It started out as a way to help her get used to the language when she first moved to London. But after a while, we used both English and Japanese at home. Part of it is to help her practice too. She's currently working as a barista. It really has helped her improve a lot."

"Sakura is a barista?" Syaoran was surprised.

"Yes. She likes it and it helps her learn the language and the culture." Eriol said.

"I see… Meiling can speak English too. I'll tell her to speak English to Sakura." Syaoran said. At that time, the shopkeeper reappeared pushing a handcart filled with boxes.

"Here you go, Master Li! I'll help you load them into the car." He said.

"Thanks, Mr. Lou!" The two young men followed the shopkeeper out from the store. Syaoran opened the trunk and they loaded the boxes into the trunk.

After that, they drove off to the next destination.

"How many places are we going to visit today?" Eriol asked when they stopped at the traffic light.

"Three for today. I need to go to a couple of places tomorrow too." Syaoran told him. "You're welcome to join me if you want."

"Sounds fun." Eriol nodded with a smile.

For lunch. Syaoran brought Eriol to a little noodle place in a small alley.

"Hope you don't mind." Syaoran told him. "It's good though."

"Of course I don't mind. Why would I mind?" Eriol asked confusedly.

Syaoran shrugged. "Not sure. You're a guest and this place is not fancy."

"I don't see the relevance. If you said it's good, then I'm looking forward to it." Eriol assured him.

After lunch, which Eriol enjoyed, they went to the two other destinations for the day before going back to the house.


	7. Chapter 7

"Meiling, what are we going to do today?" Sakura asked her friend.

"Not much, actually. We're just going to take down the various inventories. It could be boring, Sakura." Meiling told her worriedly, not wanting her friend to get bored.

"That's okay. Just tell me what you need me to do." Sakura said with a big smile.

The two women went to the food storeroom and Meiling had a list with her. She explained that they needed to make sure that they had all the ingredients that they had for the food and what ingredients they needed to get.

"That's a lot of food!" Sakura commented.

"The whole family, well, almost the whole family would be here. That's a lot of people. We'll have fireworks and stuff too. You should see the beer. Syaoran will be picking them up tomorrow." Meiling informed Sakura.

"Oh wow!" Sakura said in amazement.

"We'll have to go shopping for these ingredients too. You can join me if you want. It would be in the market though." Meiling told Sakura.

"I'd love to! But that's still a lot of things to buy with just the two of us." Sakura said as looked at the list in Meiling's hand. It was a very long list.

"One of Syaoran's sisters might be joining us." Meiling explained. "Oh, Sakura, do you have a qipao?"

"What's that?" Sakura asked curiously.

"It's a Chinese traditional dress. You don't have to wear it, of course, but it would be fun if you do. Most of us will. We should get you one!"

"Sure, but I don't think we'll have the time to shop for clothes, right?" Sakura said worriedly. They'd be busy enough as it was.

"Nonsense. There's always time for shopping! We can go after dinner." Meiling said. "Speaking of which, Syaoran and I can also take you for an evening boat tour. We'll be busy, but we would have some free time after dinner. While it would be too dark to do any decorating, it would be perfect for an evening tour around the city."

"Well, if you're sure that's okay, then we should!" Sakura told her happily. "Evening tour sounds wonderful!"

"Hong Kong has a very lively nightlife. Skyscrapers and stuff. You're going to love it!" Meiling was getting excited too.

"Then I'm looking forward to it!" Sakura smiled brightly.

During lunch, Meiling told Yelan that they were going to get Sakura some qipao and Yelan thought it was a great idea.

"We have time for tea?" Sakura asked in surprise when Meiling suggested that they sat down for some tea in the garden a couple of hours after lunch.

"For now, yes. So let's enjoy it. We won't start any cooking until the day before the festival. We also need to assemble and wrap the gift boxes, but we can't do that yet either. Syaoran is actually out to get the supplies today and tomorrow too. So for today, and maybe tomorrow, we still have time for tea. But after that, things will start to get hectic." Meiling explained.

"I see… Then let's enjoy some tea and we can catch up too. It's been way too long since we last talked." Sakura said as they sat down with tea and cookies that they've brought from the kitchen.

"How's everyone back in Japan?" Meiling asked as she poured them some tea.

"Tomoyo is in her last year of university to be a fashion designer. Rika is training to be a teacher. Naoko is also in university to be a writer. I've lost touch with Yamazaki and Chiharu after they moved to Hokkaido." Sakura said. Tomoyo had been helping her keeping up with the gossip.

"How about yourself?" Meiling asked. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm a part-time barista, fulltime housewife." Sakura said with a smile.

"A barista?" Meiling was surprised.

"Yes, it's a good way to help me learn the language." Sakura told Meiling.

"What language?" Meiling was confused.

"English." Sakura suddenly realized that her friend didn't know that she'd moved to England. "I don't live in Japan anymore, Meiling. I moved to London three years ago after I got married. Sorry, I thought Syaoran told you." Apparently Syaoran kept his promise and didn't say anything to Meiling.

"You live in England now?" Meiling asked. "Wow! But why?"

"Eriol is British and he had to move back to London for work. So we got married and I moved there to be with him." Sakura told Meiling.

"You moved to another country just to be with him?" Meiling asked in disbelief.

"I suppose I did. We tried the long distance thing for a while, it didn't work." Sakura remembered how awful it was, how miserable she was, they both were.

"I see… I was surprised when we got your wedding invitation three years ago. Actually, I was surprised when Syaoran came back to Hong Kong and told me that he'd like to resume our engagement. I thought… You and him, you know… Do, do you even know about his feelings?" Meiling asked hesitantly.

Sakura nodded. "I do. He told me during our first year of junior high."

"Then why weren't you… together?" Meiling asked, confused now. She had been sure Sakura had liked Syaoran too.

"Because I don't feel that way about him. Syaoran is a great friend and I care about him a lot, but not in that way." Sakura replied.

"Oh… And all this time I thought…" Meiling paused. "When we got your wedding invitation, I thought that Hiiragizawa must've beaten him to it and he never got the chance to tell you. That's why you weren't together."

"Oh no. Eriol didn't tell me until our third year of junior high. So Syaoran actually beat him by a couple of years, but I couldn't accept his confession." Sakura told her friend.

"I honestly thought that you liked Syaoran too." Meiling told her. Sakura had been acting like she had feelings for him too. "Even Daidouji thought so, I think."

"Yes, she did." Sakura recalled how hard Tomoyo had tried to make her and Syaoran happen. "But no, I don't feel that way about him and I couldn't accept his confession because it wouldn't be fair for the both of us. Besides, I already liked Eriol back then." Sakura smiled kindly at her friend. "This is a misunderstanding and you're the one who got hurt the most. I'm sorry."

Meiling gave her a smile. "It's okay, Sakura. Looking back, I can't believe that we had that kind of drama. I mean, we were just kids."

Sakura's smile widened. "It was a lot of drama, wasn't it?"

A second later, they both started laughing.

"So, you and Hiiragizawa, huh? How did that happen? When did you guys meet?" Meiling asked curiously after they sobered up.

"We met in fifth grade when he transferred to our class from England. Actually, he was already there when you last visited Japan. I guess you just didn't get the chance to meet him back then. Eriol knows a lot about magic, so we talked a lot and we got closer and things just happened." Sakura gave Meiling the abridged version of it.

"You guys seem happy." Meiling observed. She hadn't seen too much of them, but based on what she saw, she could tell that they were both happy and cared about each other very much.

"We are. He's the best thing that has ever happened to me." Sakura smiled brightly. "Other than magic, I mean. And we got close because of magic, so…" Technically, without magic, they wouldn't even have had existed in the first place.

"I'm happy for you, Sakura." Meiling said, but there was a slight hint of sadness in her voice.

Sakura didn't miss that. "What's wrong, Meiling?"

"Oh, nothing." Meiling tried to assure her. "It's just, I've seen how Hiiragizawa looks at you and I can see that he cares about you a lot. Syaoran would never… I'm sorry, Sakura. I just, after everything that happened, I, I can't help but feel like Syaoran married me just because he has no other choice, but he would never…" Meiling didn't know why she was telling her this, but deep down, Meiling always felt like she was just a second choice for Syaoran.

"Meiling, Syaoran cares a lot about you too." Sakura said firmly. "After you got hurt the other day, he picked up his sword and lashed out at Eriol and the guardians because he was very worried about you. He was beside himself with worry."

Meiling blinked. "He… was?"

"Yes! You might not be aware of it at that time, but when Eriol was healing you, you were so much in pain, you started screaming." Sakura took a deep breath, recalling how horrible it was. "Kero had to pin him down on the ground to prevent him from going to you and he was yelling and struggling. The moment you were healed and Kero let him go, Syaoran practically ran to you."

Meiling blushed.

"Meiling, Syaoran might not be aware of it or maybe he just doesn't want to admit it, but he loves you. And I know that you love him too. You always have." Sakura said, making Meiling blush even brighter. ' _These two are like two peas in a pod._ ' Sakura thought amusedly.

"I… I do. But I don't know if he feels the same way." Meiling said quietly. "We never talked about that kind of stuff."

"I assure you he does. And not everyone can talk about that stuff. Besides, everyone expresses love differently. Just because you don't talk about it, doesn't mean that it's not there. So, don't worry about it, ok?" Sakura encouraged her friend.

Meiling nodded. "I guess you're right. I never told him either, but it's there."

Sakura smiled brightly at Meiling.

They continued to chat about old times, laughing and giggling as they recalled the various adventures that they had in the short time that Meiling was in Japan.

* * *

"Good afternoon, ladies." Eriol greeted them half an hour later. He and Syaoran had just got back and found the women in the garden.

"Ah, Eriol." Sakura glanced briefly at Syaoran. He didn't look pissed, so Sakura believed her husband had behaved himself. "How was your day?"

"It was fun! Oh, cookies!" Eriol sat down beside her and picked a cookie from the plate and started eating. Sakura poured more tea into her cup for him.

"I was telling Sakura that maybe we can go for some shopping downtown or take the evening boat tour." Meiling said as Syaoran sat down beside her.

"Yeah, sure. We can do that." Syaoran agreed easily. "I'll have to book the boat tour, but we can go to the city right now if you want. We can see the light show too when we go on the boat tour."

"Light show?" Sakura looked excited. "That sounds great!"

"It's on every day, so if we miss it, there's always the next day." Meiling said. "So maybe we'll just go to downtown today since it's still quite early. I'll inform Mother that we won't be having dinner at home today."

Syaoran nodded in agreement.

"Alright!" Sakura nodded happily.

"We better take the train. Otherwise we'll just be wasting time driving around looking for a parking spot in downtown." Syaoran said.

As Meiling informed Yelan that they were going out, Sakura and Eriol went back to their room to tell their guardians. Eriol used that opportunity to send a quick email to John, letting him know that he'd be staying here for a few more days. Sakura used the bathroom and grabbed her bag before they headed out.

"I heard it's very lively in downtown, even late at night." Sakura said as they walked to the bus stop. She had looked up some information about things to do in Hong Kong.

"It is! There are bars, restaurants, shops and a whole lot more!" Meiling nodded. as they walked side-by-side while the men followed behind.

They reached the bus stop and waited. When the bus came, they hopped on. The bus was quite empty, so they managed to get seats. Meiling and Sakura continued to talk about the nightlife in Hong Kong.

A few stops later, they alighted and got into the underground train station. As they started to descend the stairs, Eriol automatically held his hand out to Sakura at the same time she reached for him. Seeing this, Syaoran suddenly held his hand out to Meiling too, who looked surprised, but she placed her hand in his, blushing. The other couple saw it and Sakura smiled happily.

Once downstairs, they bought the train tickets and then went to wait at the platform. When the train came, it was packed, so they had to squeeze. At some point, Sakura got pushed by someone and almost lost her footing, so she held onto Eriol and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to hold her while holding onto the overhead handrail with his free hand.

They had to change train a few stations later.

"That was packed." Sakura commented.

"Yeah, it's during rush hours. The next one should be better since people are generally heading out from the city area to go home." Meiling said. True enough, on the next train, they had some room to breathe.

They arrived downtown and walked out of the station.

"Oh wow!" Sakura looked around, taking in the lights, the bustling streets, and the various buildings. "It really looks awesome!"

"It is, isn't it?" Meiling said in delight. "C'mon…"

They started walking as Sakura continued to look around in amazement. A few minutes later, they entered a store that sold various Chinese traditional clothes for men and women alike.

"This is one of my favourite stores." Meiling informed Sakura. The women browsed through the dresses as the men just sat there and waited.

"Do the guys wear the traditional clothes too?" Sakura asked Meiling, wondering if she should get Eriol to buy one too.

"Not really, they usually just wear whatever, as long as it's not too casual. Only the elders are dressed in traditional clothes, but then again, they always dress like that every day anyway." Meiling answered. "Ah, here, Sakura! Try this one."

Sakura went into the fitting room and tried it. A few minutes later, she stepped out to show it to the rest of the group.

"You look so pretty!" Meiling exclaimed. Sakura was wearing a silk qipao in soft pink with some red trimmings. Under the bright light, the dress shimmered slightly, revealing some patterns on it. The dress fitted her perfectly and it made her look elegant while still maintained her youthful look.

"Eh, you think so?" Sakura had looked into the mirror earlier and while she thought the dress looked great, she would need a new pair of shoes. She certainly couldn't wear this with her sneakers.

"We'll need to get you some shoes, but you look amazing. Right, Hiiragizawa?" Meiling asked Eriol who was looking at Sakura with an adoring smile on his face.

"You look perfect." Eriol told Sakura, making her blush slightly. It was one thing for him to compliment her in private, it was another thing to do it in front of their friends.

"Well, I guess I'm getting this one then." Sakura said. Her husband's approval was all she needed.

Sakura went back to the fitting room to change into her T-shirt and pants. When she came back out, they made their way to the cashier. Eriol paid for the dress and then they left the store, the shopping bag in his hand.

"Next, you need shoes!" Meiling said excitedly.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're more excited about this than I am?" Sakura asked Meiling, but she too had a big smile on her face.

"Honestly, I don't really have that many friends, so…" Meiling trailed off.

"I think we need some dinner first." Syaoran said from behind them, making the two ladies smile sheepishly.

They went to a bistro-like restaurant and sat down.

"Baked rice?" Sakura looked at the menu. "Like, they put cheese on top of the rice and bake it like mac 'n cheese? Why didn't I ever think of that?"

"You've never heard of it before?" Meiling asked Sakura.

"No, but I'm definitely getting this one." Sakura then looked through the various options. "What is Yuan Yang?" Sakura asked her friends.

"It's a mix of coffee and milk tea." Syaoran told her.

"I want the baked rice with pork chop." Sakura told Eriol a minute later so that he could order for her in Chinese. "And hot Yuan Yang."

When the waiter came, they placed their orders.

"I'll have the chicken steak with rice and orange juice. She'll have the baked rice with pork chop and hot Yuan Yang. Thank you." Eriol ordered in Chinese.

"You can speak Chinese, Hiiragizawa?" Meiling asked him after the waiter had left.

"Some." Eriol nodded with a smile. Since Meiling didn't know anything about his past, he didn't tell her about Clow.

"Sakura, Eriol told me about you learning English now. How is that going?" Syaoran asked Sakura.

"It's going great. Still practicing though. You can speak English too, right Syaoran?" Sakura didn't miss the fact that Syaoran had referred to Eriol by his first name.

"We both do." Syaoran gestured at himself and Meiling. "Most of us here in Hong Kong can speak English too, although some are worse than others. But basic English is generally widely understood." Syaoran told her.

"Oh, that's great! I heard it's an official language here, but I haven't heard anyone speak it yet, so I wasn't sure." Sakura had done some reading on the plane. There was a magazine that had some basic information about Hong Kong and she had spent some time perusing it during their flight.

The waiter came back with their drinks and Sakura took a sip of her drink. "Oh, wow… This is very different." Sakura marvelled at the smoothness of it. "It's very good!" She would look up the recipe online and learn how to make it.

"You and your coffee." Eriol commented lightly in English.

"I'm a barista, dear. What do you expect?" Sakura told him with a grin.

"How did you become a barista, Sakura? I mean, what made you want to be a barista?" Meiling asked in English as the couple were already conversing in English.

"We went to Italy and I fell in love with coffee there." Sakura told them. "I took up some training to be a barista in London and so here I am."

They then chatted about Italy and Europe as they waited for their food.

After dinner, Syaoran insisted on paying.

"What are you saying? You're guests. I'm not going to let you pay for dinner." He said.

They went to some other stores and looked around. "Since we'll be staying for a few more days, maybe we should get some extra clothes." Sakura told Eriol. They got a couple of new clothes and Sakura bought a pair of flats to go with her qipao. Eriol got himself a new pair of sneakers too.

"That was fun!" Sakura said a couple of hours later when they got back to the house. "Thanks for taking us around."

"No problem, Sakura." Meiling told her. "Oh, and if you need to wash your clothes, just let the servant know."

They bid each other goodnight and went back to their rooms.


	8. Chapter 8

"A truck?" Eriol raised his eyebrows when he found Syaoran waiting for him at the front door, leaning against an open-bed truck.

"We're picking up some beer barrels today. They won't fit into regular car." Syaoran slapped his hand on the truck. "Hence, the truck."

"Just how much beer are we talking about?" The two got into the truck and drove off.

"Let's just say, some people will be here just for the beer and nothing else. For them, it really is just an excuse to get drunk." Syaoran frowned.

"That doesn't sound good." Eriol remarked.

"They don't usually look for trouble. Just stay away from them and you'll be fine. Don't worry, not all of your descendants are drunkards. The rest of us are actually pretty decent." Syaoran told him.

"That's good to know." Eriol smiled. "What else would be there?"

"Hm… Fireworks, lion dance, sword dance, fire dance and the likes." Syaoran said.

"That is a lot of dancing. Will there be any magic show?" Eriol asked with a grin.

"You like magic show?" Syaoran looked surprised.

"If it's decent, why not?" Eriol shrugged. "They've spent years practicing and learning the skills and the tricks. We can do those things because we have power, but those people have no power. And yet, they could do something similar due to diligence and perseverance. That's admirable."

"Exactly, but the elders really don't like the sleight of hand magic kind. They think it's some cheap magic. They can't appreciate the hard work that these people have put into it." Syaoran didn't really like the elders of the Li family. They were a bunch of arrogant men and women who thought they were above others just because they were related to Clow.

"You don't seem to think too highly of them." Eriol noted the hint of resentment.

"They tend to look down on others just because we're related to you, to Clow. I think they're a bunch of snobs." Syaoran said. "No offense to you, of course."

"None taken." Eriol smiled. "Sound like an unpleasant bunch."

"You'll have the chance to meet them yourself. While some of them knew that we got help from the council, nobody knows it's you. Besides, we've already agreed on what to tell them, so you don't have to worry about that. Speaking of which, does the council know about you?" Syaoran asked curiously.

"One of them does. He found out by accident when I was younger. The council needed help, so he contacted me and asked me to step in. I didn't even get to finish high school. Had to leave Japan when I was in the second year." Eriol told him.

"Second year? You were like what? Seventeen?" Syaoran was surprised.

"Sixteen. Which is why I asked you and your mother not to say anything about me being a High Priest either. If words got out that the council hired a teenager to be a High Priest, people could lose confidence in the council." Eriol said. Syaoran had proven himself to be trustworthy, so he didn't mind sharing a little bit about this. "Then I would be forced to reveal my past life, which is unfavourable. It's safer this way, especially for Sakura."

"I understand. You don't like working for the council?" Syaoran asked because it didn't sound like he did.

"It's full of politics, something that neither Clow nor I care for." Eriol said honestly. "But the council is necessary to keep the balance, so I have to do what I have to do."

By that time, they had arrived at their destination. So their conversation was cut short as they got busy.

* * *

"What are those things?" Sakura asked Meiling as they saw the guys arrived with a bunch of barrels at the back of the truck.

"The beer. I told you about it, remember?" Meiling told her as they went to the front just to take a look at the beer barrels.

The ladies had spent their morning checking for supplies of the decorations and went out to get missing items or replace the broken ones, like lanterns and such. Yelan had told them that they could start working on the gift boxes tomorrow since there were still some missing items.

"You did. I just never thought it would be in barrels!" Sakura watched as Syaoran reversed the truck so that the back of it was facing the front door.

The two men hopped out from the car as the servants opened up the back of the truck and put some plank on it to act as a ramp. Two of them then climbed up onto the bed of the truck and started to roll the barrels down the ramp while two other servants loaded them up onto the handcart.

"This is… wow!" Sakura watched in fascination. "That's really a lot of beer."

"A dozen barrels, I believe. Also Syaoran should have gotten the sweets needed for the gift boxes." Meiling said.

"A dozen?!" Sakura turned to look at Meiling with wide eyes. "I mean, that's a little too much, isn't it?"

"Oh, we won't be serving all of them. We also save some up for New Year. It's just so that Syaoran won't have to make the trip twice." Meiling quickly assured Sakura. "Don't worry, Sakura. It's not going to be a drunken festival."

Eriol approached them and he had a bag in his hand. "What have you got there?" Sakura asked him.

"Sweets, little cakes, the likes." He showed her. "We can give some of them to Kero, under supervision of course." The last thing they wanted was Spinel going into a drunken rampage looking for sweets.

"And how many have you eaten?" Sakura asked him, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to resist.

"A few." Eriol said with a sweet smile.

"At least a dozen." Syaoran said from behind him. "At the rate he was going, I thought he was going to finish the whole bag."

"Must you rat me out? You had a few yourself." Eriol turned to him with a glare, but his smile was still firmly pasted on his face.

"Yes, a few, like, three." Syaoran held out three fingers to emphasize his point. "Three is this many, Eriol. You had more than my fingers can count."

Sakura and Meiling looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"What?" The two men turned to them and gave them a look.

"Nothing, nothing." Sakura said In between laughter. She was glad to see Eriol had seemed to be getting along well with Syaoran.

* * *

That evening, Syaoran and Meiling brought them to the harbour to see the light show and then go on a boat tour.

"Whoa! That's very pretty!" Sakura's eyes were fixed on the light show as she stood there, leaning on the railing. The guardians were in her bag so they too could see the city too. Eriol stood beside her with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"It's good that we have the chance to stay for a few days to sightsee." Eriol told her happily. He hadn't been to Hong Kong himself. Clow had, but this wasn't like what he remembered it to be at all.

"How was it like back then?" Sakura asked. "Must be very different, right?"

"Yes. There was no skyscrapers, no lightshow. Nothing like this at all. Clow was here for a while, but he left to go somewhere else before ending up in Japan." Eriol told her. "He hadn't been back since and this is my first time here."

"How long was he here for?" Sakura asked.

"Growing up, he moved between here and England. But as he got older, he started to explore more. He visited when he could, but never stay too long." Eriol said.

Sakura leaned her head on the crook between his neck and shoulder and wrapped her own arm around his waist. "Aren't you glad to be back?"

"I'm glad to be back here with you." He told her as he turned his face slightly to place a gentle kiss on her hair.

"Me too. I'm glad that you're here with me." Sakura told him sincerely. She almost lost him merely days ago and she was so grateful that right now, he was right here with her, safe in her arms. She tightened her arm around his waist and pressed herself closer to his side as they watched the light show.

After the light show, they went on the boat tour to see the harbour. They took some pictures on the boat, including one where they held Kero and Spinel (who were staying very still) with the buildings behind them. They also took some pictures with their hosts and of course, some pictures of just the two of them.

All in all, they all had a great evening.

* * *

"Sakura, these are Li Feimei and Li Huanglian, Syaoran's sisters." Meiling introduced them. "Sisters, this is Sakura Hiiragizawa. She's our friend from Japan."

They were in the big sitting room, with servants coming in carrying boxes of stuff needed to assemble the gift boxes. The guys had left to run their errands of the day, leaving the ladies to start working on the gift boxes.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Sakura greeted them politely. She didn't know that Syaoran's sisters were twins, so she was quite surprised.

"You look surprised to see us. Didn't Syaoran tell you about us?" Huanglian smiled widely at Sakura.

"Uh, yes, he did. But I didn't know that you're twins. Sorry." Sakura smiled sheepishly.

"Twins?" They both looked at each other and then laughed.

"Oh, no Hiiragizawa. We're not twins!" Huanglian stated.

"Huh?" Sakura looked confused. They looked so similar. Enough to pass as twins.

"There are actually four of us!" Feimei said with a big smile on her face.

"Fo…Four?!" Sakura was floored.

"Yes! We're quadruplets! Our two other sisters are married, so they won't be joining us until the day of the festival." One of them explained.

"Hoee…" Sakura was speechless. Syaoran definitely never mentioned that he had a set of quadruplets as sisters.

"Girls! Stop bothering Sakura and start working." Yelan's voice could be heard from the doorway.

"Yes, Mother." Both of them pouted but moved away from Sakura anyway.

"My apologies, Sakura." Yelan smiled apologetically at Sakura.

"Oh, no problem at all, Mrs. Li." Sakura assured her with a smile. Sakura had only seen Yelan during mealtimes these days as she was busy doing her own stuff.

"If they're giving you any trouble, just let me know, okay?" Yelan told Sakura before leaving.

"C'mon Sakura, let me show you how to do this. We have to do a lot of them, but we only have today to do them." Meiling said, then she showed Sakura how to assemble and wrap the gift boxes.

"First, we have to assemble the box itself." Meiling picked up a flat carton and then made it into a box. "Each box has a pair of chopsticks, one bag of sweets, a box of mooncakes, and one of each of these snacks." Meiling gestured towards the snacks. "Make sure that everything fits snugly and that the content wouldn't shift around during transport. Once you're done, close it and seal it. Lastly, we have to write the name of the recipient for each box from this list and place the nametag on the box." Meiling demonstrated to Sakura the steps and presented her with the finished product.

"There must be hundreds of them." Sakura commented as she looked at the stacks of cartons and the boxes around them.

"There are more than 300 of them. So we better get to work." Meiling told Sakura as Feimei divided the list into four.

"Do you know how to write in Chinese, Hiiragizawa?" Feimei asked as she handed the lists to everyone.

"Yes, the writing is similar enough to Japanese, even though some have different meanings." Sakura nodded. "Also please call me Sakura. Hiiragizawa is usually for my husband."

"Oh, you're married?" Huanglian asked, surprise in her voice.

Sakura nodded. "Yes. He's with Syaoran now. Running some errands."

"Syaoran's still the errand boy…" Huanglian giggled.

"So, what brought you to Hong Kong, Sakura?" Feimei asked Sakura a few minutes later as they worked on the gift boxes. Sakura started off slow, but she quickly got the hang of it and picked up the pace.

"Syaoran and Meiling invited us here. It's been a long time since we saw each other and with the festival coming up, we gladly accepted their invitation." Sakura said.

"Oh how did you know each other?" Huanglian asked.

"We were classmates back in Japan. When Syaoran and I were there." Meiling answered, following along the story that they all had agreed on.

"Wait… Sakura, Japan, Syaoran's classmate… That sounds familiar." Feimei looked thoughtful. After a second or two, she looked at Sakura, "Aren't you the one who, you know, with the cards?" She clearly didn't want to give anything away in case she was wrong.

Sakura and Meiling looked at each other. Sakura finally nodded, there was no point denying it. "Yes, that's me."

"You're so cute!" Feimei said as she looked closely at Sakura.

"Wait until you see her in qipao." Meiling stated. "She's the cutest thing."

"Meiling…" Sakura sweat-dropped at her friend's remark, but her friend gave her an innocent look. "We should get back to work." Sakura said, trying to steer their attention away from her.

A couple hours later, they took a break for lunch.

Sakura retrieved Kero from her room and when the two sisters saw him, they immediately fussed over him.

"Look at how cute this thing is!" Huanglian squealed.

"Thi… Thing?" Kero sweat-dropped.

"This is Kero." Sakura introduced them. "Kero, these are Syaoran's sisters, Huanglian and Feimei."

"Huanglian, Feimei, settle down." Yelan told her daughters and they did. They ate lunch and the two watched Kero eat in fascination.

After lunch, they went back to the sitting room. Sakura returned Kero to their room before joining the others.

"Looks like we're not even halfway done." Feimei looked forlornly at the stacks of boxes and the mess that they had made in the room. Out of the three hundred something boxes, the most they had done was about 100 or so.

"When Syaoran got back, we should get him to help us." Huanglian said.

"Syaoran can't do this thing. He'll just make a mess with his clumsy hands." Feimei pointed out. "He'll just throw everything in there without a care."

"Let's just get back to it and when Syaoran comes back, we'll see how it goes." Meiling said. The more they talked the longer it would take them to finish up.

About an hour later, Syaoran and Eriol appeared at the doorway, having been sent there by Yelan to help with the gift boxes since they were done with their errands.

"Syaoran!" Both Feimei and Huanglian got to their feet and went to him.

"Ugh! Let go of me!" Syaoran tried to break free from his sisters' grasps.

They then noticed Eriol and let go of their brother. "You must be Hiiragizawa."

"That's me." Eriol said with a smile.

"These are my sisters, Huanglian and Feimei." Syaoran introduced them. "This is Eriol Hiiragizawa."

"Nice to meet you both." Eriol smiled at them. Syaoran had told him about his quadruplet sisters on their way here earlier.

"Nice to meet you too!" They both said at the same time.

"We really need to get back to this." Meiling said from her position on the floor.

"Ah, yes. Mother sent us here to help out." Syaoran told them before they went inside and sat down on the floor.

Eriol sat by Sakura and she showed him what to do. He took a carton and followed Sakura's directions and copied what she was doing. Soon, he was working on his own boxes.

"No, Syaoran, don't just put everything in there. You have to make sure they fit." Huanglian told her brother a while later. She then reached to try to rearrange the contents of Syaoran's box.

"Get your hands off my box." He moved the box away from his sister's reach.

"See? I told you, he'll just make a mess of it." Feimei said.

"Shut up…" Syaoran muttered, but he rearranged the contents anyway.

"How long are you two going to be here for?" Feimei asked Eriol and Sakura.

"We got here a few days ago and will be staying until after the festival." Sakura answered. "We also want to see around Hong Kong."

"Ah, first time here?" Huanglian said then turned to Syaoran and Meiling. "You should take them to Disneyland!"

"I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, we'll be super busy for the next few days, we won't have the time." Syaoran said, he was pretty sure Disneyland wasn't high on Eriol and Sakura's list of things to do. Hell, it wasn't even on _his_ list.

"Maybe next time." Eriol said as he put aside his finished box. He worked quickly and efficiently. There were growing stacks of boxes beside him.

"You're fast." Feimei commented. She looked at how Eriol arranged the contents and saw that even though he worked quickly, he made sure that the contents fit snugly and were arranged nicely. He then sealed the box and then wrote the next name on his and Sakura's list on the nametag, crossed it from the list, and pasted it on the box and he was done with another box.

"That's because he's actually working, unlike the two of you." Syaoran told his sisters, who glared at him.

"And what about you? You're not working either!" Huanglian pointed at Syaoran's small stack of boxes.

"I'm trying to! If some people can just shut up and focus on their own boxes, I would be done a lot faster." Syaoran retorted back.

Eriol, Sakura and Meiling just watched as Syaoran and his sisters continued to argue. Nobody pointed out that if they stopped arguing and focused to work on their own boxes, they _all_ would be done a lot faster.

"Is it always like this?" Sakura whispered to Meiling.

"Pretty much." Meiling confirmed.

"Reminds me of you and Touya, actually." Eriol told Sakura smiling widely

In the end, it took them all afternoon and the better part of the evening to finish up the boxes.

* * *

The next day was shopping day. Since they were going to the traditional market that sold some local street foods, Yelan suggested that Eriol joined the ladies so that he could look around and have a taste of the local food. He agreed readily.

So, Meiling, Sakura, Eriol and Feimei left to go to the market, leaving Syaoran and Huanglian at the house to start working on the decoration.

They got to the market at around 9.30AM. "They have all sorts of things here; raw ingredients, street foods, souvenirs, trinkets and whatnot." Meiling told Sakura and Eriol at the entrance. "If you want to go explore on your own, that's fine. We can meet back here at 12PM. We'll take you to a nice lunch place nearby."

"Ah, but we're here to help you." Sakura said unsurely.

"We've got this, Sakura. Don't worry. Just please be careful of pickpockets." Meiling told her reassuringly.

With that, they parted ways.

"Is this okay though?" Sakura asked Eriol worriedly as they went to look around.

"I think it's better this way. They'd be busy shopping for the ingredients. This way, they don't need to wait for us if we wanted to stop to look at something." Eriol told her. Sakura thought about it and agreed with him.

They walked hand in hand along the busy alley. "Meiling wasn't kidding. There are all sorts of stuff here." Sakura noted that there were various shops; from food stalls, to clothes stores, to watch shops. And this was just one alley.

"Would you like to buy anything?" Eriol asked. The place was crowded, so he kept her close to his side.

"Let's see what they have. Maybe we can find some souvenir to take home. We also should get something for our hosts, but I'm not sure if this is the right place."

They stopped at the first food stall and tried the Curry Fish Ball. Eriol did all the talking since Sakura couldn't understand Cantonese at all. He got them six fishballs covered in curry sauce in a plastic container.

"This is so good!" Sakura said. She used the skewer to pick up a fishball and pop it into her mouth.

After they finished the fish balls, they stopped by the drink stall to get some cold and refreshing juice. It was a hot day. Sakura was glad that she was dressed in red T-shirt, denim shorts and her trusty sneakers while Eriol was wearing a light grey Polo shirt and jeans with a pair of sneakers that he bought during their shopping trip a few days ago.

They continued to walk around, stopping by various shops and stalls to take a look at the things. It really fascinated Sakura that these shops were selling knock-off goods for branded items but she wasn't interested in any of them. In the end, they tried the egg waffle, the stinky tofu, and the fried pig intestine.

At 12pm, they met back with Meiling and Feimei at the market's entrance and drove the short distance to a small restaurant to have lunch before going back to the house.

* * *

Fresh from shower, Sakura stepped out of the bathroom. "Eriol, it's your turn… What are you doing?" Sakura frowned as she saw him leaning against the partition wall between the sitting area and the bedroom, reading a familiar piece of paper. "Where did you find that?!" Sakura quickly went to him and made to grab the paper from him, but he was faster, moving away from her grasp and held the paper, her letter, out of her reach.

"You wrote me a letter?" Eriol grinned. He was just about to write some notes for work when he saw the letter sitting on top of his notepad. (A/N: Sakura's letter can be found in Chapter 5)

Sakura blushed. She completely forgot about the letter. "Well, you wrote me a letter, so…" She mumbled.

Eriol smiled. "It's very nice of you to return the favour." He had read the letter, twice, to commit her words into memory. "I'm keeping this." He announced.

"No, don't." Sakura said. "It's bad. I just wrote down what went through my mind and it's…" Sakura's face was red. She had written that letter on impulse.

He went to her and held her by the shoulders. "Look at me, Saku." He prompted gently. When she looked up at him, he smiled softly at her. "It's very lovely and I'm honoured that you've trusted me enough to share yourself with me. I'm no prince charming, but I'll do my best to be worthy of you, of your love. I'm sorry for having put you through that and thank you for being strong for me, for us." He said seriously. "And just so you know, I will never get tired of hearing you say that you love me."

Sakura's eyes moved towards the sitting room, where their guardians were. What he said was incredibly personal and they could've heard him.

"I sent them out." Eriol told her. "I was trying to work and they got into an argument, so I sent them out to cool off. But then I found your letter instead."

"Oh." Was all Sakura could say before he pressed his lips on hers.

"I love you, Sakura Hiiragizawa." He told her after their kiss.

"I'm never going to get tired of hearing that either." Sakura said with a bright smile.

With that, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to bed where he showed her just how much he loved her.

* * *

"Okay, you two, behave." Sakura told the two guardians. "There will be a lot of people, so unfortunately you'll have to stay in the room. I'm sorry. We'll bring back some food for you later, okay Kero?"

The two guardians nodded.

"Saku, come on." Eriol said from the doorway. "They'll be fine."

"Coming…" Sakura grabbed her bag and went to the door. She slipped her feet into her flats and stepped out. The dark red flats complimented her dress nicely. Sakura had also bought a pink headband during their trip to the market.

"You look incredible." Eriol told to her as they walked towards the back garden. Sakura was holding onto his arm.

"You look great yourself." Sakura returned his compliment. He did look great in white shirt, red tie and black suit jacket and pants.

They got to the back garden and looked around for their friends.

"Sakura, over here!" Meiling waved them over. She and Syaoran were standing near the refreshment table. Meiling was wearing something similar to Sakura, a qipao, in different colour, and Syaoran was wearing suit and tie, just like Eriol.

"Hi, guys!" Sakura greeted them enthusiastically. "Great party!" She looked around. It was lively, with music and people eating, drinking and be merry.

"It's not even in full swing yet." Meiling informed them. "Drinks? We got beer, wine, soda, and fruit punch." She offered.

"Is there any alcohol in the fruit punch?" Sakura asked since Eriol shouldn't be having the rest of the drink options or even the fruit punch if it had alcohol in it.

"No. If you want alcohol, there's the beer and the wine." Meiling told her. "The fruit punch is just a mixture of some fruit juice. Mostly for the kids."

Eriol got himself a glass of fruit punch and Sakura got herself some soda.

Syaoran looked at Eriol.

"I don't drink alcohol." Eriol explained as he took a sip of the fruit punch.

"Good evening, Eriol, Sakura." They heard Yelan's voice and turned to see her.

"Good evening, Mrs. Li. Thank you again for inviting us." Sakura greeted her politely.

"You're welcome. I'm glad that you two can stay." Yelan told them before she was being called away by some people. "Please excuse me. Enjoy the festival."

They continued to chat and drink and grabbed something to eat while waiting for the main event to start. Unfortunately, as more guests were arriving, Syaoran and Meiling had to play hosts. Sakura and Eriol assured them that they'd be fine.

"It's a great festival." Sakura told Eriol later as she munched on a chicken dumpling.

"Yes, it's very lively." Eriol said as he glanced over to the trees. They were away from the rest of the party and there was nobody there, just a bunch of trees.

"Too bad Kero and Spinel can't join us." Sakura frowned. "They would have enjoyed it." She felt bad having to leave her guardians behind, but with the amount of people, they just couldn't take any risk. Besides, who know what kind of magic would be going around tonight and they couldn't risk anyone sensing the guardians' presence.

"You're right. That's too bad…" Eriol agreed, a smirk grazing his face. "Come on, looks like the main event is about to start. Let's find a spot to watch. I think it would look great from above though, like on top of a tree."

"Huh?" Sakura looked at him in confusion, but Eriol led her away towards the crowd.

"Is it just me or is he telling us to go to the top of the tree to watch the festival? Do you think he knows we're here?" Kero asked Spinel. After Sakura and Eriol left, they had sneaked out from the room and flew here, hiding behind the trees.

"What do you think?" Spinel asked sarcastically. "Of course he knows. This is Master we're talking about. He can sense us from miles away, you know that."

"Well, at least Sakura doesn't know." Kero said as he started to float up, heading towards the top of the tree.

"She needs to learn to be more sensitive of our presence. But we can't fool Master." Spinel followed Kero up.

They perched themselves on the branch. "Too bad I can't get anything to eat though. The food table is located right in the middle. There's no way to sneak there."

"You'll live." Spinel said shortly. "Now, shush. They're about to start."

Sakura and Eriol enjoyed the party immensely. There were lion dance, fire dance, and sword dance. There was even a dance where the party goers could join in and Meiling had pulled Sakura along to dance. Sakura had laughed and danced with Meiling, along with some other ladies and kids while Eriol watched from the side with a big smile on his face. After the various dances were over and the party started to come to an end, it was time for the fireworks.

"Wow!" Sakura looked up at the fireworks exploding in burst of shapes and colours in the sky.

Sakura and Eriol stood side-by-side, with his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist as they watched the fireworks.

"We should come back here one day." Sakura said to him.

"We should, and we will." He agreed.

Sakura smiled happily at him.

* * *

"Thank you very much for everything, Mrs. Li." Sakura bowed to her as they stood by the front door. They had put their suitcase inside Syaoran's car trunk and he and Meiling were going to send them to the airport. "Here's just a little something from us, as a token of our gratitude." She continued as Eriol handed a nicely wrapped box to Yelan.

"You shouldn't have." Yelan said as she received the wrapped box. "It's been an honour to have you here and I hope that one day, you'll consider visiting us again."

"We will. Hong Kong is incredible and we'd love to come back." Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Let's go. We don't want you to be late." Syaoran told them.

They got into the car and waved at Yelan as the car drove off.

They arrived at the airport and after checking in, Eriol went to use the bathroom, leaving Sakura to say goodbye to Syaoran and Meiling.

"Syaoran, thank you so much. I know Eriol is not an easy person to deal with, but thank you for being patient with him." Sakura thanked her friend.

"Ah, he's okay. He's actually not so bad." Syaoran said awkwardly.

"You have to visit us again, okay Sakura?" Meiling told her friend.

"We will. Or you can always visit us in London." Sakura said with a smile.

Fifteen minutes later, they made their way to the immigration counters, waving back at their friends.


End file.
